Prior to taking command of the Enterprise, Patrick Stewart appeared in such BBC productions as "I, Claudius," "Smiley's People" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," which aired on public and commercial television outlets in America. American filmgoers will also remember him as Gurney Halek in the David Lynch-directed "Dune," Leodegrance in "Excalibur," Duke of Suffolk in "Lady Jane" and Eilbert Lovborg in "Hedda," with Glenda Jackson. He was the recipient of the prestigious London Fringe Best Actor Award for his performance in a London production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and an Olivier Award for his performance in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra."

During Star Trek: The Next Generation's third season hiatus, Patrick appeared in the Steve Martin film "L.A. Story." He also lent his voice to the narration of "Shape of the World," a series on the mapping of the world through the ages, which was produced by London-based Granada Television for PBS. During the show's fourth season, Patrick made his directorial debut with an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "In Theory." Patrick's one-man dramatic interpretation of Charles Dickens' classic novel, "A Christmas Carol," brought down the house and garnered rave critical reviews on Broadway. During the show's fifth season hiatus, Patrick played a villain in British Lion Production's feature film "Gunman," and appeared in USA Network's "Death Train."

Patrick grew up in the English town of Mirfield and for 25 years has been an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Considered to be one of the British theater's leading talents, his credits include "Henry IV", "Oberon", "Shylock" (an Olivier Award nomination), "Leontes" and the title role in Peter Shaffer's 1986 play "Yonadab." Patrick is currently working on the latest Star Trek: The Next Generation feature film.