Patrick Stewart dead at 86: Picard and Professor X actor

This is a tough one. Patrick Stewart has passed away at age 86, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. He'll forever be known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films. To me he was an iconic, one of a kind talent, and this news is devastating to hear.

The Hollywood Reporter describes Stewart as "the sophisticated actor who brought a Shakespearean touch to Star Trek and X-Men as he made an otherworldly transformation from British stage veteran to sci-fi icon." The outlet notes that he admired Picard and Xavier for their morality, their kindness, their sensitivity and their compassion.

Patrick Stewart died at home in Los Angeles, his spokesperson announced

According to the report, Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following "a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia." The death was announced by his longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak.

In her statement, Bush Novak wrote that he had been held in a warm embrace by his friends and family, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to them all. She added: "We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace."

How Patrick Stewart was cast as Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Hollywood Reporter recounts that by the late 1980s Stewart had decades of classical theater work in England behind him but was unfamiliar to American audiences when he was given command of the USS Enterprise. Star Trek: The Next Generation producer Robert Justman happened upon a UCLA lecture featuring Stewart and watched him read Shakespeare in his trademark patrician style.

Justman called the actor in for an audition against the wishes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who, according to the report, didn't think a bald Brit could be the face of the new series. After a contentious casting process, Stewart went over Roddenberry and signed a long term contract to play Picard, believing there was no way the show would last beyond one season.

Stewart recalled that advice in 2010: "Every single person I spoke to, agents, directors, screenwriters, and other actors said, 'Oh, don't worry about six years. You'll be lucky to make it through the first year.'" Everyone felt it was madness to try to revive an iconic series like the Star Trek of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, so on the basis of that advice, he signed a six year contract.

Typecasting and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films

The report says Stewart acknowledged that Star Trek saw him fall victim to typecasting. So when he was offered the role of Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men during the final years of the Next Generation movie run, he wasn't hesitant. The outlet calls X-Men, an adaptation of the Marvel comic books, a pioneering film that helped launch a new age of superhero cinema.

On X-Men, Stewart worked alongside his longtime friend Ian McKellen, who played the villain Magneto. He went on to appear as Xavier in six more films: starring roles in X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Logan, plus cameos in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. The Hollywood Reporter writes that playing Picard and Xavier for so many years allowed him to explore layers upon layers with his characters, an opportunity few actors ever get.

Avengers: Doomsday will probably be Patrick Stewart's last project

When this news broke, Avengers: Doomsday was about two months from release, and Stewart is in that film. Unless he filmed something else we don't know about, this will probably be the last project we'll see him a part of. I would not be surprised at all if Marvel Studios did some sort of memorial for the actor.

Two iconic roles: Professor X and Jean-Luc Picard

He will forever be Professor X, but I watched so much Star Trek growing up on TV, and I'm sure many others did too. It's incredible to me that he had two hugely iconic roles in Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X.

What an iconic talent, and absolutely one of a kind. This is so devastating to hear. My prayers, thoughts and condolences go out to his family and loved ones. Patrick Stewart has passed away at age 86.