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A Call To Arms To Honour Sir Patrick Stewart
Katie Bruce grew up in Sir Patrick Stewart’s home town. She writes of the massive legacy of good he leaves—more than a bloke from Yorkshire who acted a bit—and how we need to fund the arts to help the next Sir Patrick Stewart to bloom.
Another good ‘un gone.
I never met Sir Patrick Stewart. But when you grow up in the same town as someone, even decades apart, you can’t help but feel some kind of connection. Patrick Stewart was a part of my… life? Upbringing? Story? He was a presence in it, if nothing else.
His picture hung in the entrance of my high school, and probably still does.
When I read his biography I found out he used to go to the same pub up as I did growing up (although I don’t know if they did those amazing Yorkshire pudding sandwiches back then).
My grandad was his milkman, back in the day. My grandma used to go around every Friday to collect the milk money, have a chat with folk, as you did, and Patrick Stewart’s dad would always tell her what he was up to, what theatre or group he was part of, what parts he was playing. I think we all know about his complicated relationship with his dad, and this is not meant to diminish any of that, but what stood out to my grandma was how proud his dad was of him, even back then, before he was famous. She told me it was a shame he never got to see just how far his son would go.
And go far he did, from a small Yorkshire town to the Royal Shakespeare Company to voyaging across deep space. Pretty damn far. And I know there are going to be people talking about the roles he played that meant so much to them, so I’m going to leave that to them, because honestly? I haven’t seen much of his stuff. My standout memory of his acting is as King Richard in Robin Hood Men In Tights (and the Scottish accent that confused me for many years), and he’s only on screen for a few minutes. Instead, I’m going to talk about the legacy he left as himself, the work he did for the world. Because, bloomin’ ‘eck, did he do a lot of good.
Using his platform for GOOD
Growing up, he watched his mum suffer at the hands of his father—something he talked about openly, something he dealt with by becoming an avid campaigner for victims of domestic abuse, working with Amnesty International and Refuge. He took a stand at a time when powerful men did not. He raised awareness of how domestic violence affects more than just the victim, extending support to the children that witness it, too. He raised awareness and broke down barriers. I’m sure we’ve all seen the videos of him speaking on the topic, reassuring women it was not their fault, could never be their fault. The conviction in his voice, the way he spoke… I’m not sure if he ever really knew the amount of healing that occurred, or at least began, thanks to his words, his advocacy.
Let’s not forget he was also a staunch ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. A video has been circulating recently of his reaction when Sir Ian McKellen spoke about coming out and the good that it puts into the world when you are yourself. You can see the love in Stewart’s eyes, you can see the joy. When it was falsely reported that he himself was gay, he corrected it in the most loving and supportive way, uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community, supporting Elliot Page. He considered the mistake an honour, which speaks of his love for the community.
He did much to destroy the image of toxic masculinity, simply by being himself. Holding hands with his best friend, kissing him, showing him love and never, ever worrying how it might appear to others, whether his masculinity would be questioned. His existence, his acceptance, his love helped provide a safer space for LGBTQIA+ folk to exist in this world as our full, glorious selves.
When he read the sonnets online during lockdown, one a day, it was such a little thing but it became so much bigger. He was just doing a thing he loved, and in the process he gave millions of people around the world something to look forward to each day, a moment of routine and dependability amongst the chaos and uncertainty, a few minutes away from the collective trauma we were all living through. A reminder that we were not alone.
And I think the most important thing about all this is: he never needed to be asked to do any of it. He didn’t need to be asked to speak out against domestic violence or be a vocal ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. He just did it. Because that’s who he was. It wasn’t in him to stay quiet about the things he cared about.
A call to arms: Honour his legacy by funding the arts!
One of the things that’s been standing out to me in the days since his death, is how much he was needed in this world—and, importantly, if we want more people like Patrick Stewart, then we need to fund the arts! He was working class through and through and, no matter the heights he reached, he kept that mindset. If we want more of this then we need to make sure that the kind of opportunities he had back then still exist, continue to exist, are expanded, and new ones created.
One of the biggest things I took from reading his autobiography was how long it took him to reach the level of success we all associate him with now. The level of dedication and perseverance it took for him to get there. He had a lot to teach us creatives about sticking with it. And being proud of what we’ve made! More than anything, love what you do and never be ashamed of it! But you need money and opportunities to do this! The idea of the Starving Artist is nonsense, and if the arts continue to be defunded like they are, so much amazing art and so many amazing people will be lost to us.
Fund the arts!
I’ve tried to think a way to round this article up and I’m struggling. Because I don’t want this to be it. I don’t want him to be gone. So I’ll leave it with this:
He was a good egg. He made the world that bit brighter and I think he’d be happy to know that that’s the legacy he leaves behind, shining every bit as brightly as the roles he played.
All photos taken from the Patrick Stewart collection on IMdB
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