British stage and screen legend Patrick Stewart died on Oct. 28. He was 86.

The Yorkshire-born actor leaves behind a remarkable screen career spanning more than six decades. Best known for his iconic portrayals of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the “Star Trek” franchise and Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, Stewart also brought numerous characters from classic novels, plays and comic books to life.

One of Stewart’s earliest notable literary roles came in the 1976 BBC miniseries “I, Claudius,” based on the historical novels by Robert Graves. He portrayed Sejanus, the ambitious commander of the Praetorian Guard.

He later appeared as Soviet intelligence officer Karla in the 1979 television adaptation of John le Carré’s spy novel “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Stewart reprised the role in the 1982 miniseries “Smiley’s People,” also based on a le Carré novel, opposite Alec Guinness as British intelligence officer George Smiley.

In 1980, Stewart appeared in the television adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children’s classic “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” which he followed with a voice role in the 1982 animated film “The Plague Dogs,” based on Richard Adams’ novel.

He stepped into the realm of science-fiction adventure in 1984, when Stewart appeared in the first big screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science-fiction novel “Dune.” Stewart played Gurney Halleck, House Atreides’ loyal military strategist, who would later be played by Josh Brolin in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” trilogy.

In 1993, Stewart made a brief but memorable appearance as Richard the Lionheart in “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” Mel Brooks’ comedic take on the Robin Hood legend.

Stewart, a longtime champion of LGBTQ+ rights, played interior decorator Sterling in the 1995 romantic comedy “Jeffrey,” based on Paul Rudnick’s off-Broadway play about a gay man falling in love amid the backdrop of the HIV epidemic.

Another major literary production came in 1996 with the television film “The Canterville Ghost,” based on Oscar Wilde’s 1887 supernatural comedy. Stewart portrayed Sir Simon de Canterville, the ghost of an English nobleman who haunts his ancestral home.

In 1998, he tackled one of literature’s most famous sailors when he played Captain Ahab in the television miniseries “Moby Dick.” Based on Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, the production followed Ahab’s obsessive pursuit of the great white whale.

The following year, Stewart portrayed two classic literary characters in television productions.

He starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1999 television adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” He had previously played the role–as well as the rest of the cast–in a series of one-man stage productions that began in 1991.

That same year, he took on the role of another famous literary miser when he voiced the power-hungry pig Napoleon in the television adaptation of George Orwell’s 1945 political allegory “Animal Farm.”

Stewart made a return to the sea when he was cast as Captain Nemo, the mysterious inventor and commander of the submarine Nautilus, in the 2005 television film “Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island.” The film, based on Verne’s 1875 adventure novel, reunited Stewart with his “Dune” co-star Kyle MacLachlan.

Later in 2005, he lent his voice to the BBC adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen.” Stewart voiced the Raven in the live-action TV movie, which retold the story of a young girl embarking on a dangerous journey to the Snow Queen’s icy kingdom.

Perhaps Stewart’s best-known role outside of “Star Trek” began in 2000, when he starred as Professor Charles Xavier in the Marvel Comics adaptation “X-Men.” The film introduced Stewart as a powerful telepath, founder of a school for young mutants and leader of the titular team of super heroes dedicated to creating a peaceful world for both humans and mutants. Stewart’s longtime friend and theatrical collaborator, Ian McKellen, co-starred as Magneto.

Stewart reprised the character in 2003’s “X2: X-Men United” and 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” He also made appearances as Xavier in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” 2013’s “The Wolverine,” 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and 2017’s “Logan.”

The actor made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” portraying an alternate-universe version of Xavier as part of the powerful and mysterious Illuminati.

Stewart’s final filmed appearance as Professor X was in Marvel’s upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday,” scheduled for release in December. The appearance will mark his ninth time portraying the character, extending a relationship with the franchise that began more than 25 years earlier.

The classically trained thespian joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and remained a core member for 16 years before making sporadic guest appearances in the subsequent decades.

He went on to appear in several Shakespeare adaptations for the screen, including television productions of “Hamlet” in 1980, playing King Claudius, and 2009, reprising King Claudius and taking on the additional role of King Hamlet’s ghost. He also portrayed the titular Scotsman in the 2010 TV adaptation of “Macbeth.”

The year after “Macbeth,” Stewart would voice Bill Shakespeare himself–or at least a statue of him–in the animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet,” a loose adaptation of “Romeo & Juliet.”

One of Stewart’s final book-to-screen roles came earlier this year, when he voiced elderly ram Sir Ritchfield in the whimsical mystery “The Sheep Detectives,” based on the 2005 novel “Three Bags Full” by Leonie Swann.

In 2023, Stewart published his memoir, “Making It So,” reflecting on his childhood in Yorkshire, his decades as a stage and screen actor, his rise to fame and his experiences navigating Hollywood.

From the science-fiction worlds of Herbert and Marvel Comics to the literary classics of Dickens, Melville and Orwell, Patrick Stewart demonstrated an extraordinary ability to bring iconic characters to life. His intelligence, wisdom, commanding gravitas and innate fatherly warmth made for a career that will not be soon forgotten.