Patrick Stewart, the celebrated thespian known for his roles in Star Trek and X-Men, has passed away at the age of 86. Beyond his towering theatrical presence and superhero roles, Stewart was a cultural trailblazer who redefined public perceptions of male baldness.
His tenure on Star Trek: The Next Generation marked a departure from the action-oriented tropes of the 1960s series. While Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, embodied a hyper-masculine, hair-heavy archetype, Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard was a nonviolent, intellectual leader. When the casting was first revealed, critics questioned how a star of a future-set sci-fi series could be bald. Show creator Gene Roddenberry famously dismissed these concerns, asserting that by the 24th century, humanity would have evolved beyond caring about such traits. But his sex appeal was undeniable, not only was his cool temperament a nice change of pace from the 1960s take. Previously, Star Trek had been a kind of space-set action show, where the relentlessly virile Captain Kirk would beam down to new planets to either punch or get off with all the aliens there. Worse still, he didn’t have any hair. After all, the show was set in a future where space travel and teleportation were accepted as the norm, so wouldn’t it stand to reason that humanity would have created a cure for male pattern baldness. So often when men go bald they end up overcompensating by inflating themselves to preemptively ward off negative comments. And how much more aggressively he bulked out after he lost his hair, look at The Rock. Who reacted to baldness by pumping iron and building willy-shaped space rockets, look at Jeff Bezos.
Stewart, who began losing his hair in his teens, was initially deeply self-conscious. He once admitted to Rolling Stone that he spent money he could barely afford on a wig to mask his hair loss. However, he eventually abandoned the hairpiece to embrace his natural appearance, becoming a beacon for other men. He told The New Yorker in 2023, “How many times have I been spoken to in the street by somebody who would pull off his cap, revealing a bald head, and say, ‘You saved my life!’” P atrick Stewart managed to be lots of different things at once. And, at times, he wasn’t above sending himself up.
His influence was validated by the public; in 1992, TV Guide readers voted him the “most bodacious” man on television. With 54% of the vote, Stewart surpassed much hairier competitors like Burt Reynolds and Luke Perry. Unlike other public figures who might bulk up or pursue extreme measures to compensate for hair loss, Stewart maintained a path of consistent elegance and intellectual refinement. Who pointed towards a different path of culture and elegance and refinement, embracing his baldness without ever apologising for it, now compare this to Stewart.
Stewart’s longevity in the public eye provided a unique perspective on aging. When he debuted as Picard in 1987 at age 47, he was often perceived as being older than his actual years. Yet, because he did not experience the typical aging signs of thinning hair or greying, his appearance remained remarkably consistent for decades. As fans reacted to his passing at 86, many were surprised to realize the full extent of his career, as his refusal to adopt hairpieces or unflattering dyes allowed him to age on his own terms, effectively playing the long game and winning. People were generally staggered to learn that he was 86 years old. But then he carried on looking that age for decades afterwards.
