Patrick Stewart, who appears in the new movie “Logan,” has decided to apply for American citizenship. The British-born actor, known best for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is taking the plunge so that he might “fight” President Donald Trump.
What the nature of this fight and how Stewart becoming an American will further the cause are questions to which no answers exist so far. But, like many in the entertainment industry, Stewart is aghast at the idea that Donald Trump, the mercurial former businessman, and reality show star, is president of the United States.
Indeed, the actor has admitted to losing sleep over Trump being president. Stewart may have an overly optimistic view of how effective he will be in fighting Donald Trump. Most Americans are not influenced by celebrity, even ones they admire, endorsements of politicians. Patrick Stewart is not likely to be the one exception who strikes down the King.
Stewart has not, as a rule, made his political beliefs known, unlike other actors. He has stated on more than one occasion that he opposes any effort to explore space so long as problems exist on Earth, an odd attitude to take for someone who has played the captain of the starship Enterprise. He considers himself a socialist, even though his net worth has been estimated to be $60 million, and a member of the British Labour Party.
He was a critic of the Iraq War and of measures to deal with terrorists that he considered overly harsh. He has supported assisted suicide and has campaigned for measures to curb domestic violence.
Besides Captain Picard, Stewart is most famous for portraying Professor X in the “X-Men series,” which he has reprised for “Logan/” He has also appeared in such films as “Excalibur.” “Dune,” and “Lady Jane” as well as TV series such as “I, Claudius,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” and “Blunt Talk.” Stewart was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from the mid-1960s, He appeared in a television production of “Hamlet” as Horatio oppose Ian Richardson in the title role.
