Skip to content 
Sir Patrick Stewart (Getty Images)
Patrick Stewart said he couldn’t imagine acting “officially” in an interview in July, insisting: “I will always and forever be an actor.”
The comments came in a TV Insider interview published a few months before Stewart died on October 28, 2026, at the age of 86, at his home in Los Angeles.
His longtime spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak confirmed his death the next day, saying: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, after a short and terrible journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”
Why Patrick Stewart said he could never retire
In the interview, Stewart spoke candidly about what aging can mean for performers, while making it clear that he still wanted to work.
“As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer roles available as we get older,” he said.
He added: “That said, I still get interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work, like voicing a pig’s head in Riz Ahmed’s brilliant new series. Bait.“
Stewart’s career has spanned from British theater to global stardom. He rose through the Royal Shakespeare Company, became a major Shakespearean interpreter, and later became a pop culture icon as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation in the Star Trek: Picard. He also met Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, and was known for voice work on animation and games, as well as his association with progressive causes.
Stewart prepared to reprise Professor X Avengers: Doomsday at the time of the interview.
What he said about Picard and Star Trek’s anniversaries
Stewart’s talk was tied to major franchise milestones, including the 60th anniversary of star trek and the upcoming 40th anniversary of The next generation.
Looking back, he was clear about what Picard meant to him: “Without question, Jean-Luc is the most significant role of my career. And I will forever be grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of what is now such a historic franchise.”
The July conversation was Stewart’s last interview before his death.
