In December 2023, actor Sir Patrick Stewart joined Washington Post chief film critic Ann Hornaday for a live video discussion covering his memoir, Making It So,
tracing his path from northern England to the Shakespearean stage and franchise roles. That conversation has been republished following the passing of both Stewart and Hornaday.
When actor Sir Patrick Stewart sat down with The Washington Post in December 2023, he brought with him a life in storytelling that began long before he ever stepped onto a professional stage. Joined by chief film critic Ann Hornaday for a live video conversation on Washington Post Live, Stewart discussed his deeply personal memoir, Making It So,
recounting a journey from a small town in northern England to iconic roles across the Star Trek
and X-Men
franchises, alongside his enduring foundation in Shakespeare.
Childhood Reading Roots Shape a Lifetime of Literature
Stewart admitted he had initially been reluctant to pen a book, despite proving a natural. He described a childhood in a home devoid of television or record players, relying entirely on the radio and broadcasts from the BBC. At age six, he began reading seriously, and by age seven, he discovered his local public library.
The librarians welcomed him into the children’s section before he eventually wandered into the adult stacks, a discovery that he noted fundamentally changed his life by sparking a lasting passion for 20th-century American literature. That lifelong bond with reading persists to this day. Stewart shared that every single morning begins with a cup of tea and a book, carving out 20 minutes to half an hour purely for himself before touching a script or emails.
The Royal Shakespeare Company and Re-creating Every Moment
Stewart contrasted his professional upbringing against the training of his American colleagues. Having come up through what he termed a theatrical farm system, his ambitions remained fixed entirely on live performance and the stage. That path ultimately led him to the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he spent roughly 12 consecutive years.
Recalling his early school days reading Shakespeare, Stewart reflected on the rhythm of blank verse and iambic pentameter, and the emotional resonance of characters like Shylock. For Stewart, sustained stage work offered an education akin to attending college, an academic environment he otherwise missed out on after attending acting school. Above all, he emphasized that performing in a play demands absolute presence rather than mere repetition, describing the work as a constant re-creation with every live audience.
