Introduction

Sir Patrick Stewart, one of the legendary actors of our time. This man has taken roles across a venue of films from historical pieces to sci-fi tales all of us nerds and geeks love. Unfortunately, at the age of 86, on October 28th, 2026, Patrick Stewart was taken from us. In honor of one of the reasons many of us consider ourselves nerds here at SunsetNerdVerse, we decided to look back at some of his iconic roles. Here are our top 10 favorite Patrick Stewart roles. Rest in peace sir, energize him up to the heavens.

Honorable Mention: Macbeth in Macbeth

Release Date: 2007-2008

One of the great things about Sir Patrick Stewart was he didn’t just act in films, he also did theater work. Less known for his great roles, one I got to see recorded long ago was Macbeth where he played the center character himself. I loved how much energy he put into this performance that literally gave me chills like the book did, which I read in my younger days. Macbeth was already a legendary work, but when Patrick Stewart took the role for himself, it evolved into a true showstopper. There is also a TV version, which is great too, so I’ll put them both in the Honorable Mentions.

10. Avery Bullock from American Dad

Release Date: 2005 – 2026

Whether it was live action or voiced roles, Sir Patrick Stewart could bring his charm into almost anything…even if it was a more comedic animated cartoon. Avery Bullock was the Deputy Director of the CIA in American Dad, created by Seth MacFarlane, where main character Stan worked, and despite being in a serious sounding role, Avery is kind of all over the place, being serious at times, comedic in other spots, and downright questionable more often than not. Strange but hilarious, Avery showed a side of Patrick Stewart that wasn’t often portrayed and I loved that for his character. He appeared in over 100 episodes of the show so Avery wasn’t just a side character, he was quite essential to American Dad as a whole.

9. King Richard from Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Release Date: 1993

Robin Hood is often presented to people as a serious story. An archer who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, a man of honor and integrity. In Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the story is twisted into a parody and one of my personal favorite characters was King Richard, played by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart. Here King Richard, another character usually seen with high levels of seriousness and royalty, makes nonsense jokes and acts more like a bro than a king. I feel like that was the beauty of Sir Patrick Stewart, that he could take a role that should be designed one way and use his charm to make it into something completely different. King Richard isn’t the central figure of Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but every moment he shows up led to a nice laugh.

8. Adventure from The Pagemaster

Release Date: 1994

In yet another animated voiced character, Sir Patrick Stewart took on a swashbuckling book in The Pagemaster, which aired when I was literally 4 years old…that long ago, I know. Adventure was chaotic, proud, and strong, which was only enhanced by the voice work Sir Patrick Stewart could offer. I loved his jump into action attitude and his ready to battle anyone charge. As a kid, this movie was fascinating, but only as a teen would I realize it shows the range our actor had and the inability to ever deliver anything less than a perfect performance.

7. Narrator for Ted

Release Date: 2012 – 2015

Sir Patrick Stewart had a sense of humor. From his numerous interviews to some of his roles we’ve mentioned today, it was clear this man knew comedy and was okay playing with it in his own deep voiced way. Case in point, the narrator in Ted, who literally delivers lines in his usual voice but with an almost storyteller-like quality dipped in dark comedy. Though he only has several lines in both Ted movies, Sir Patrick Stewart as the narrator was the perfect way to remind you this isn’t a kids tale being told, but all while having that theme incorporated into it.

6. Darcy from Green Room

Release Date: 2015

While most of his roles were heroic, Sir Patrick Stewart did dabble with evil roles and did it surprisingly well. Case in point, when he was the leader of the skin heads in Green Room. Playing Darcy, their leader, Sir Patrick Stewart went into an almost 360-like acting role. Gone was the kind hero or leader we knew, instead we got a straight up villain who wasn’t afraid to show how little he cared for human life. Darcy was a great role for Sir Patrick Stewart, showcasing yet another side to our amazing actor that he didn’t do often enough.

5. Gurney Halleck in Dune

Release Date: 1984

While new Dune has been the talk of the town with modern sci-fi enthusiasts, for good reason, it is excellent, the original, despite how corny it could be and low budget, wasn’t bad by any means. Before his fame in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart took on the role of Gurney Halleck in David Lynch’s Dune adaptation. Here would be the first major sci-fi role our actor would have and he did a tremendous job. Yes, his role was not the primary one in the movie, but he did have a few memorable scenes, that again are pretty mediocre compared to the current Dune, but I think it was here we saw how good Sir Patrick Stewart could be in a space themed tale.

4. Captain Ahab from Moby Dick

Release Date: 1998

Moby Dick is one of my personal favorite novels. Not because it’s about a giant white whale, but because the story has layers to it that most fail to grasp. Sir Patrick Stewart stars in Moby Dick as the strained Captain Ahab and we get to see him take on a role that shows the power behind every acting role Sir Patrick Stewart takes. The dialogue, the movements of the Captain, and how he looks at the bigger picture is what needed to be perfected by anyone taking on the role of Ahab, and Sir Patrick Stewart does it without missing a beat.

3. Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

Release Date: 1999

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has been done to literal death in my honest opinion. While it is a stellar Christmas themed story with layers of lessons and values within, there are a dozen movies, animated and live action, about it. There’s a new movie coming out this year called Ebenezer, starring Johnny Depp, which just adds to my argument. Still, if you need to see one of the best and personally most powerful versions of this story, watch A Christmas Carol starring Sir Patrick Stewart in the main role. Here our amazing actor fuses his stage strength with that of his silver screen persona to give us an Ebenezer that is dark, strong, and terrifying. Out of all the movies that have the themes of A Christmas Carol, this one I’ve seen by far the most.

2. Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X) from the X-Men films

Release Date: 2000 – 2017

X-Men is an amazing comic book and that’s because it had powerful mutants like Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, but most of all Professor Charles Xavier or Professor X. When the comic book series came to the movies, Sir Patrick Stewart helmed the role of our wheelchair bound psychic and made that role his for decades. Even with the prequel movies casting a younger version of Charles, in this case James McAvoy, who handled the professor excellently, I don’t think there was ever a moment I didn’t think Patrick Stewart was made for this role.

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Picard

The legendary role himself, the reason I even became a Star Trek watcher. Star Trek: The Next Generation isn’t the first in the franchise but was my first introduction to Gene Roddenberry’s masterclass franchise and Patrick Stewart. Taking on the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, this was his most iconic role in my opinion. Going from the calm leader to occasionally showing how human he was, Patrick Stewart made this role so impossible to be mimicked and I’ve only ever seen parody roles. While it is debatable which season of Star Trek is the best, The Next Generation had my favorite captain and that was all thanks to Patrick Stewart.

Despite being gone from this world, Sir Patrick Stewart will always remain in our hearts. Time after time, Patrick Stewart took a role and didn’t just play it…he lived it, which showed on Broadway and the big screen alike. He was a legendary actor and will always remain one. Let us know in the comments did our list find Sir Patrick Stewart’s best roles, or did we miss one, and what was your personal favorite he had. Now then, time to rewatch the entire Next Generation so I can remember his legacy.