Facts About Patrick Stewart

He's an interesting guy.

Patrick StewartPhoto byCreative Commons: Gage Skidmore

Patrick Stweart has done the near impossible. He’s an 83 year old man who’s bald and still considered cool. Kudos to Patrick. And he really does seem cool.

To me, Patrick is Jean Luc Picard. And that’s a good thing. Following William Shatner/ James T Kirk as captain of the starship Enterprise was a daunting task. But Stewart/Picard nailed it. Picard vs. Kirk sort of reminds me of the Gilligan’s Island Mary Ann vs, Ginger debate. Only looks are left out of the equation. But, there’s much more to Stewart and his portrayal of Picard. So, here are some things you didn’t know about Patrick Stewart.

1: At the age of 15 Stweart left school to pursue a career in the theater fulltime.

And no, he didn’t become an usher.

2: In 1992 TV Guide named him as “The Most Bodacious Man.”

Always humble, Patrick referred to his co-star, Jonathan Frakes as, “Number One.” Hold on, being told that’s not why Frakes/Ryker as Number One.

3: Patrick has trained for years as a boxer.

Now in his 80s, Patrick is probably about ready for some type of celebrity boxing match.

4: Stewart/Picard has changed the English language.

Well, at least the way we pronounce one word. Brent Spinner’s character’s name was originally going to be pronounced, “dat-tah.” However, with Stweart’s accent, it became “day-tah.” And, it some parts of the country, it’s pronounced, “day-ter.”

5: Patrick was considered for the role of Willie Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” but lost out to Johnny Depp.

Maybe the producers thought Patrick was out of his Deppth.

6: He was reportedly nicknamed “Old Baldy” by the cast of STNG.

Of course, after he was knighted, he became known as, “Sir Old Baldy.”

7: Stewart went bald during his teens.

At first he was bothered by it, but finally decided to go with it. Stewart isn’t sure why he has maintained a youthful appearance, but perhaps he didn’t go grey may have helped.

8: Patrick played Captain Ahab in the mini-series, “Moby Dick.”

In this rendition of Moby Dick, Ahab was accused of being a racist because he was pursuing a great “white” whale. Ahab was therefore accused of profiling. Hang on, being told that’s not true and to knock it off. I guess that joke, like Ahab, didn’t have a leg to stand on.

9: Stewart is advocates for a number of causes, including pit bulls.

He’s fostered some of them and does well with them, unless they do “Number Two” on the rug.

10: Well-known for his stage work, in 1997 Patrick played Othello in an otherwise all-black cast in Shakespeare Theatre Company production.

I don’t know much about the play, but I think Othello kills himself because after a series of problems, and he can’t take it any Moor.