Patrick Stewart, the actor who died aged 86, built his reputation as a versatile stage performer before becoming known worldwide through Star Trek and X-Men.
Stewart trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966, playing roles ranging from Shakespearean clowns to muscular dramatic characters. He performed Touchstone in As You Like It and Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well as Cornwall in King Lear and Hector in Troilus and Cressida.
A Guardian critic who reviewed Stewart in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan at Bristol Old Vic in May 1965 noted his "rich, resonant voice" from the start. The critic observed that Stewart's film and television roles in popular franchises gave him "an extra layer of confidence and authority on stage," making him a more powerful performer overall.