New work and a Star Trek milestone
Stewart acknowledged that aging actors faced "fewer and fewer available roles," but said the offers reaching him still made him want to work.
"I still continue to receive interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work," he told TV Insider. "I can't imagine ever officially 'retiring.' I'll always and forever be an actor."
The conversation also turned to 2027, when Star Trek: The Next Generation will mark its 40th anniversary. "All of these anniversaries are wildly surreal for me," Stewart said. "But the 40th anniversary of The Next Generation is particularly remarkable. I still remember my first day driving onto the Paramount lot like it was yesterday."
His final screen performance is still to come. Marvel Studios confirmed that Stewart will appear as Professor Charles Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, opening in theaters on December 18, 2026. According to Variety, the film marks his ninth big-screen appearance as the character.
Family and colleagues remember Stewart
In the statement announcing his death, longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said Stewart died at his Los Angeles home in the loving care of his wife, Sunny, after a "brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia." Family and friends had surrounded him before his death.
William Shatner and George Takei were among the Star Trek colleagues who paid tribute. His X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman remembered "a tremendous friend and man" whom he would miss "all of my days."
Marvel Studios said it was "deeply saddened" by Stewart's death. Its president, Kevin Feige, recalled meeting him on the set of the first X-Men film and described him as "brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas."
Seth MacFarlane, who worked with Stewart on Family Guy, American Dad! and other projects, praised his ability to elevate any dialogue and called him "as humble as they come."
A stage career and a life of advocacy
The Royal Shakespeare Company honored Stewart as "a colossus of both stage and screen and one of the finest classical Shakespearean actors of his generation." His association with the company began in 1966; he remained a core member through 1982 and performed in more than 30 RSC productions.
Stewart's Broadway career began with A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1971. His performance in the title role of Macbeth on Broadway brought him a Tony Award nomination in 2008. He also received two Laurence Olivier Awards: for Antony and Cleopatra in 1979 and Hamlet in 2009. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2010 for services to drama.
Beyond performing, Stewart devoted himself to philanthropy and activism. His advocacy encompassed human rights, support for domestic violence survivors and refugees, veterans' mental health services, and animal welfare.
His representatives asked well-wishers to support the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America Caregiver Resources, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
