Patrick Stewart Biography
If you are a fan of Star Trek, then you will definitely know who Patrick Stewart is. He essays the role of Captain Jea-Luc Picard in the newer television series of Star Trek as well as the newer movies based on the series. He is also the famous Professor Charles Xavier in the blockbuster X-Men movie series. |
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He was born on July 13, 1940 to Gladys and Alfred Stewart in Mirfield, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. His mother was weaver and worked for a textile company, while his father was sergeant major in the British army. Before joining the army, Stewart senior worked as a laborer as well as a postman. Although his father was an army man, Stewart grew up in a poor family and this helped shape his political as well as ideological beliefs as an adult. Also, his father was violent man prone to hitting his mother. He spoke about this domestic violence in video made by Amnesty International and how it affected him as a child. Due to his childhood experience, he has instituted a scholarship for post graduate studies in domestic violence at the University of Huddersfield and also is the patron for a British charity, Refuge, which helps abused women in the UK.
Stewart started his schooling at the Crowlees Church of England Junior and Infants School and it is here that his English teacher got him interested in acting by making him act in a play by Shakespeare. In the year 1951, Stewart joined Mirfield Secondary Modern School at the age of 11, where he also studied drama. However, when he was 15 years old, Stewart dropped out of school, so that he could be participate further in the local theater. To support himself, he started working for a newspaper as a reporter and writing obituaries. However, after working for one year at the newspaper, the editor asked Stewart to choose between being a reporter and acting. It goes without saying that Stewart selected acting and gave up his job. If he had not chosen acting, we would have never had the privilege to see such a fantastic actor performing.
On the personal front, Stewart has two children, a boy and girl, from Sheila Falconer. However, the couple divorced in 1990. While he was working for Star Trek: The Next Generation, he got engaged to one of the producers of the show Wendy Neuss, whom he married in August 2000. However, this marriage also did not work out and the couple divorced in 2003. It is said that three months before his divorce from Neuss was finalized, Stewart was involved with Lisa Dillon, an actress. This relationship lasted until 2007.
In the year 2001, Stewart was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire, an honor that he cherishes deeply. He was also made into a Knight Bachelor for the services rendered to drama.
Stewart is a socialist where his political ideologies are concerned and is a member of the British Labour Party. However, he has been quite open about his criticism of the government for waging a war in Iraq and for the legislation that the British government passed where it could detain a person for forty-two days without charging. He is also a supporter of assisted suicide; and proclaims himself as a feminist. In Huddersfield, Stewart is the president of the Huddersfield Town Academy, which is a project started by the local football club to identify and develop talented young players. Stewart has also claimed that if he had not become an actor, then he would have liked to become a concert pianist.
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Wikipedia: Patrick Stewart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Stewart
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Any Hollywood movie buff will know the name of Dennis Hopper. This wonderful actor made his acting debut with another great Hollywood star, James Dean. He acted with Dean in Rebel Without A Cause in the year 1955 and Giant, which was released in 1956. However, there is more Dennis Hopper than this, a man with many facets in his personality. 