Sir Patrick Stewart’s greatest London stage performances, from Shakespeare to Waiting for Godot

Sir Patrick Stewart will forever be remembered by millions as Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men's Professor Charles Xavier, but before Hollywood came calling, his greatest passion was Shakespeare.The acclaimed actor, who died aged 86, built a formidable reputation on the British stage, spending 16 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and bringing some of the playwright's most celebrated characters to life.Although he was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940, London became an important part of Stewart's theatrical story, providing a stage for some of the performances that cemented his reputation as one of Britain's finest classical actors.Stewart died after a "brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's and Lewy Body DementiaWireImageHis relationship with Shakespeare began long before international fame. Having discovered a love of acting as a teenager, Stewart trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before joining the RSC in 1966.Over the following 16 years, he became a central figure in the company, performing in productions of King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.It was the latter that brought him his first Olivier Award, winning best supporting actor in 1979 for his performance in the Shakespeare tragedy.Stewart's ability to move between classical theatre and contemporary drama would become one of the defining features of his career.Sir Patrick Stewart was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940PA ArchiveIn 2005, he brought his one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol to London's Noel Coward Theatre, taking on multiple characters in a production that showcased his remarkable versatility as a performer.A year later, he returned to Shakespeare in the West End, playing Prospero in The Tempest in 2006. The role allowed him to revisit one of the playwright's most complex characters, a magician and former duke whose journey explores power, revenge and forgiveness.But one of his most celebrated theatrical achievements came with Macbeth.The acclaimed actor won his first Olivier Award in 1979 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Antony and CleopatraGettyStewart took on the title role in Rupert Goold's acclaimed production, which began at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2007 before transferring to London's West End and subsequently travelling to Broadway.His interpretation of the Scottish king earned him widespread critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination in 2008, his only nomination for the prestigious American theatre prize.Steward recieved a Tony Award nomination in 2008WireImageIt was a role he had waited decades to play. Stewart had first memorised Macbeth's soliloquies when he was just 14, long before he could have imagined the international career that awaited him.Read MoreHis love of Shakespeare also remained central to his work alongside close friend and fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen.The pair reunited on stage for Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, performing in London's West End before taking the productions to Broadway.He was knighted in 2010 for services to dramaPATheir partnership brought two generations of theatre audiences together, with Stewart and McKellen demonstrating the extraordinary chemistry that comes from decades of experience on stage.Stewart also returned to the Shakespearean canon with Hamlet, earning his second Olivier Award for best supporting actor in 2009.Despite becoming one of the most recognisable faces in science fiction and superhero cinema, Stewart never abandoned the theatre that had shaped him.Sir Patrick Stewart died on Wednesday at the age of 86PA ArchiveHis performances in London were a reminder that, long before he commanded the USS Enterprise or mentored the X-Men, he was an actor who had devoted his life to the words of Shakespeare and the craft of live performance.He was knighted in 2010 for services to drama, an honour that recognised a career spanning more than six decades across stage and screen.