With his recent appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Patrick Stewart has just celebrated 22 years playing the character of Charles Xavier/Professor X, but that's only a fraction of the long and storied career of this knighted Shakespearean actor.
From stage to cinema to the television screen, Patrick Stewart has been appreciated by audiences around the world for decades, and his acting filmography alone could be the envy of most working actors today, even without the projects he's directed or produced. But which of those performances do IMDb users consider the best?
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness - 7.3
Fittingly enough, the second Doctor Strange film recently took the spot as Patrick Stewart's tenth-best performance from IMDb's perspective. Reappearing as Charles Xavier in an alternate universe, this makes Stewart unique in that he has played at least three different versions of a superhero on screen.
Although fans were divided on Stewart's reappearance and the Illuminati's role in the film as a whole, the film allowed viewers a glimpse into the "what-if?" world of the X-Men always being part of the MCU. In future films, a different actor will likely play Xavier, so Stewart having a short MCU moment was a nice aspect for audiences to see.
X2: X-Men United - 7.4
One of the best X-Men movies, X2: X-Men United was a step up in terms of both quality and box-office performance from the first X-Men movie. One of the clearest ways in which it made that improvement was through having Professor X and Magneto's warring teams unite against a threat to all of mutant-kind.
Stewart had already proven how well he could play the mentor figure of Charles Xavier, but it's his back-and-forth with fellow Shakespearean actor Ian McKellen's Magneto which elevates his performance. The two genuinely feel like friends who fell out over ideological differences and it showed the potential that X-Men: First Class would develop with their friendship.
A Christmas Carol - 7.4
Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol, is one of the most film-adapted stories of all time, and while moviegoers may vary in which version is their favorite, one underappreciated adaptation is the 1999 made-for-TV movie starring Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Between Star Trek and the then-upcoming X-Men franchise, Patrick Stewart had developed into the wise older hero of sorts, but on stage, he'd played villains plenty of times. This role allows him to flex both muscles, going from greedy curmudgeon to joyous cheermeister in a believable way that fits right in with the original tale.
Star Trek: First Contact - 7.6
Patrick Stewart made a name in the United States by surpassing William Shatner's Kirk as the best Star Trek captain, Jean-Luc Picard. He continued the role after the TV show in a series of movies, and IMDb's highest-rated of them is First Contact.
The Next Generation crew of the Enterprise must stop evil aliens from rewriting the Star Trek timeline. Not only would the possibility of rewriting history with time travel influence the J.J. Abrams reboot series, but it also let Stewart as Picard show how much he was willing to sacrifice of himself for the greater good.
The Plague Dogs - 7.7
The Plague Dogs is a 1982 adult-animated film, and an adaptation of a novel by the writer of Watership Down, with both films sharing the same director. The story follows two dogs who escape from a British research facility, and pointedly critiques animal cruelty in regard to testing.
Stewart has a minor role in the film, as the voice of Major John Awdry. It's one of his first forays into voice-acting and he was still quite new to wide-release cinema, so there isn't as much of him in this film as there is of others. 35 years later, he'd land a major role in The Emoji Movie.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past - 8.0
Although inspired by the comic book storyline of the same name, the Days of Future Past movie is very different from it, but it's to the movie's benefit. Comic book films get to take a shortcut because they have decades of continuity to draw from, and the continuity is so strange that it doesn't matter if they stray.
By this point, the X-Men films were at a crossroads, with both a prequel and a spin-off Wolverine series, and this movie is where they combine. Patrick Stewart's return to the role is exciting, but his screentime with his younger self, played by James McAvoy, is heartwarming, as he gives his younger self a pep talk and gets him back in the game.
Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind - 8.0
Hayao Miyazaki's movies are among the best animated films ever made, with even his worst being artistic in ways most mainstream American releases aren't. So, when 1984's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind received a 2005 English-language dub, Stewart was chosen to voice Lord Yupa, a swordmaster.
By this point, Stewart's previously-mentioned experience playing wise mentor figures had become a kind of typecast, but that doesn't take anything away from what he delivers in the movie. Yupa is, at one point, able to tame angry soldiers merely by his presence and voice, which is so fitting for a character voiced by this legend.
Logan - 8.1
Not only is 2017's Logan one of Patrick Stewart's best performances, but it was also supposed to be his last outing as the character. It was a beautiful finale for his and Hugh Jackman's long careers in the X-Men series, which is the only flaw with his Multiverse of Madness reprisal.
But choices in future movies don't have to affect previous ones, and the genius of Logan is that it can stand on its own as well as be a summation of the Fox X-Men franchise. Patrick Stewart portrays a broken, aged Xavier well, managing to be both tender and intimidating as a living weapon of mass destruction unable to control his telepathic powers anymore.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - 8.7
Star Trek: The Next Generation reinvented Star Trek for a new audience, 20 years removed from the original series, as well as reinvigorated the entire franchise. Without it, all future Trek shows and movies being made today might never have come about.
Patrick Stewart's central performance as Jean-Luc Picard is the glue that holds the crew and show together. He may not be the most down-to-Earth, realistic character, but between his Shakespearean wisdom and ability to command respect from the crew, it doesn't matter. Like Superman, he is an idol to look up to.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 9.0
Surprisingly, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion beats out The Next Generation as Patrick Stewart's highest-rated role on IMDb. In the 2006 game's story, Stewart voices Uriel Septim VII, a major player in every Elder Scrolls game until the next installment, 2011's Skyrim.
Thanks to the grandiosity of the Roman Empire, as well as Ian McDiarmid's portrayal of Palpatine in Star Wars, the sci fi/fantasy emperor is now expected to be imbued with a grandness that intimidates, and few would be better than Stewart for it. His husky, slow voice makes players pause on his every word, and remember the experience long after playing.