Stewart vs. Shatner: Who is the most well-known?

[Aike]

Ok, I don´t want your personal opinions on their acting or personal life. Instead, I want to see who you think is the most well-known: Patrick Stewart or William Shatner?

I think Stewart is far more known than Shatner. For instance, he has far more hit on Google (15 million vs. 2 million). He´s got more fans on Facebook (60 000 vs. 15 000 last time I checked).

Agree or disagree?

 

[Cyke101]

I would agree, partly if because of the global market. While Trek isn't exactly hot overseas, properties like X-Men is.

As well, it helps that Stewart also appeals to an older or more financially secure crowd than Shatner does: Stewart is a stage superstar, who can tap into an entertainment market that Shatner simply can't.

But ultimately, as much as we all love Shatner, I think he's still got the stigma of being seen as a cult figure and shlock actor, despite mainstream success in shows like Boston Legal.

 

[timothy1701]

I fully agree. Stewart is way more well known. I think star trek is what first made him big, but unlike Shatner, he was able to prove himself beyond Star Trek, and is wellknown on his own merits. Shatner will always be "That funny star trek guy" Thats made fun of by mainstream media. He's wellknown...as a joke. It's not right, but I think it's true.

 

[Keith1701]

I fully agree. Stewart is way more well known. I think star trek is what first made him big, but unlike Shatner, he was able to prove himself beyond Star Trek, and is wellknown on his own merits. Shatner will always be "That funny star trek guy" Thats made fun of by mainstream media. He's wellknown...as a joke. It's not right, but I think it's true.

I agree.

 

[Anwar]

Stewart, professionally and personally. All IMO of course.

 

[Michael]

I think Stewart is far more known than Shatner. For instance, he has far more hit on Google (15 million vs. 2 million).

I don't care who's more well-known, but that statement is wrong. "William Shatner" has 2.100.000 hits, while "Patrick Stewart" only has 1.060.000.

 

[Aike]

I think Stewart is far more known than Shatner. For instance, he has far more hit on Google (15 million vs. 2 million).

I don't care who's more well-known, but that statement is wrong. "William Shatner" has 2.100.000 hits, while "Patrick Stewart" only has 1.060.000.

Interesting, I wrote William Shatner and Patrick Stewart, but I agree your search results are probably more accurate since the name Stewart is more comman than Shatner.

But I still think that Stewart is the better known out of the two, especially among people younger than 40.

 

[SFRabid]

I would think Shatner in the US, maybe Stewart world wide. More age groups have been exposed to Shatner on US TV than Stewart. For Stewart, people who follow theater are a very small part of the population when compared to TV. I would not think that XMen gives him a big boost over the number of people that already know him from TNG.

 

[JarodRussell]

I think Stewart is. Well known stage actor, starred in X-Men and Star Trek, and Dune. Has done many voice overs. And then he is more seriously known. Shatner is constantly mocked even by his own fanbase.

 

[Bertie]

Yeah, but Picard kind of went viral with that whole facepalm meme to a greater extent than Shatner ever did. There was that "I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am" thing with Kirk, but I don't think that quite got the same play as the facepalm.

 

[JarodRussell]

The facepalm and motivational poster stuff is an Internet only thing that probably nobody knows or cares about but some nerdy bloggers.

 

[GhostFaceSaint]

In the US its more Shatner, we don't have Stewart on stage over here very often, and he hasn't been doing a lot of Hollywood movies lately which is too bad because I would love to see Stewart do some more movies soon, he is a great performer.

 

[Cyke101]

The facepalm and motivational poster stuff is an Internet only thing that probably nobody knows or cares about but some nerdy bloggers.

That still goes a long way towards recognition, as it's about a repeating image, even if it's just for nerds (who will show their non-nerd friends anyway). In Stewart's case, the fact that there are more of him than of Shatner still contributes to the overall number. Never underestimate the value of a good viral trend.

I recall how the Captain Picard song became a ytmnd and youtube hit and was receiving play on CNN and even Sports Center. It just goes to show that we're all nerds

 

[Kirkman1987]

U.S. - Shatner

Worldwide - Stewart

 

[Aike]

In the US its more Shatner, we don't have Stewart on stage over here very often, and he hasn't been doing a lot of Hollywood movies lately which is too bad because I would love to see Stewart do some more movies soon, he is a great performer.

This may be true. Still, Stewart has been in eight blockbusters* since TNG ended. Shatner only notable role was in Generation.

I´ve always thought movie stars were more well-known than most TV-stars.
Will Smith,Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp are far more well-known than any of the Trek stars and they never do TV any more.

*The four TNG movies, X-men 1-3 and the Conspiracy Theory (He played the villain in the movie which starred Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson.)

 

[Aike]

Shatner is constantly mocked even by his own fanbase.

I don´t think that is his fan base or the fan base of TOS. It´s the fans of TNG and the spin-offs that do that.

 

[thumbtack]

Shatner's QScore is considerably higher and, since the advertising industry controls the Earth, I won't argue.

 

[Cyke101]

In the US its more Shatner, we don't have Stewart on stage over here very often, and he hasn't been doing a lot of Hollywood movies lately which is too bad because I would love to see Stewart do some more movies soon, he is a great performer.

This may be true. Still, Stewart has been in eight blockbusters* since TNG ended. Shatner only notable role was in Generation.

For Shatner's films, there's also Miss Congeniality, which was popular enough to warrant a sequel (though I don't know how popular that film was). But yeah, aside from cameos like Dodgeball, I see your point.

 

[JustKate]

Shatner is constantly mocked even by his own fanbase.

I don´t think that is his fan base or the fan base of TOS. It´s the fans of TNG and the spin-offs that do that.

Besides, that right there is proof of how well known he is. The only way to successfully mock someone is for that person to be well known enough to mock. The worst actor in the world won't be mocked if hardly anybody's heard of him.

Worldwide, I don't know which one is more famous (quite possibly Stewart - I hope so since I personally prefer him to Shatner by a HUGE margin), but I have no doubt that Shatner is more famous in the U.S. He's part of the popular consciousness. You don't have to have seen even one full episode of Star Trek to know who William Shatner is.

 

[Canuck69]

You don't have to have seen even one full episode of Star Trek to know who William Shatner is.

I agree with this, but to some extent the same can be said for Stewart and Picard.