Why Was Patrick Stewart Knighted?

Sir Patrick Stewart is a British actor with an illustrious career spanning over six decades.

Sir Patrick Stewart was awarded a Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for services to drama. He began his acting journey at the Royal Shakespeare Company and went on to have successful careers in both England and the United States.

Read more below about Stewart’s acting career and his services to drama that earned him a coveted Knighthood. 

An Unlooked-For Honor

Sir Patrick Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in June 2010 for his services to drama. Speaking of the award, Stewart said it was “an unlooked-for honor”. 

The classically trained actor stated that he owed “literally everything” to the English teacher, Cecil Dormand who encouraged him to pursue acting as a career. 

Recalling the support Dormand showed him as a young, aspiring actor, Stewart said: “He was the one that put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand [and] said, ‘Now get up on your feet and perform’.”

Stewart declared that he would be celebrating his Knighthood with Cecil Dormand on his return to his hometown in Yorkshire after the investiture.

Watch Sir Patrick Stewart lament on his knighting ceremony on YouTube:

A Decorated Career

Stewart began his career in a long season at The Royal Shakespeare Company, an envied experience for many young, British actors.

In 1979, Stewart received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his stage performance in the West End production of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’. His first on-screen roles were BBC productions of ‘Heddus’ and ‘I, Claudius’.

Shortly after receiving the Laurence Olivier accolade, Stewart pursued a career across the pond in the United States. One of the most notable being the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ that ran from 1987 – 1994.

In 1993, Patrick went on to be named TV Guide’s Best Dramatic Television Actor of the 1980s. Following that, he received his own star the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

Stewart would go on to star in blockbuster movies including a recurring role in seven films of the X-Men franchise. He played the role of Logan in all seven of the films, with the last film he appeared in centered around the character entitled, Logan.

Watch the full ceremony of Patrick Stewart receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame:

Star of Stage and Screen

Patrick Stewart’s other TV and film roles include King Henry II in ‘The Lion in Winter’ for which he received a Golden Globe nomination and Captain Ahab in the 1998 TV adaptation of ‘Moby Dick’, receiving an Emmy nomination.

More recently, Stewart starred in the 2019 remake of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and 2020’s ‘Star Trek: Picard’.

Shortly after filming began for the TV series, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, Stewart started to miss stage acting, the medium that launched his career.

Due to the strict filming schedule of ‘Star Trek’, Patrick found it difficult to fit in stage roles. In order to remedy this, he began to write and perform in one-man shows that he would put on for acting schools and universities in California. The most notable being Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ in which he played over 40 characters himself.

Following the show’s success, Stewart went on to perform it on Broadway in 1991 leading to a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show.

Looking back at the career of one of Hollywood’s best-known actors, it’s easy to understand why Sir Patrick Stewart was awarded the highest accolade of Knighthood for his services to drama. It’s a run that shows little signs of slowing any time soon.

Watch Sir Patrick Stewart react to a ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ interview from 1987 below.

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