Patrick Stewart, Intergalactic Treasure

May 30, 2013 9:38 AM

Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart.
posted by robocop is bleeding (60 comments total)

I very rarely tear up when reading things on the internet, but this was one time when I did. Well done, Sir Patrick, well done.
posted by LN at 9:42 AM on May 30, 2013 [8 favorites]

I was just coming in to post this. Here, instead, is a link to the video of the event.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:44 AM on May 30, 2013 [8 favorites]

Were I, a Vulcan, able to feel human emotions; I would have found that story touching.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:44 AM on May 30, 2013 [27 favorites]

As a proper American, sometimes I laugh at those silly Brits, with their monarchs and knights and such. And then I see Patrick Stewart doing something like this, and I am reminded that sometimes, people really do earn those silly titles. Maybe not for the thing they are purported to have earned them for, but I'm okay with calling him "Sir."
posted by Etrigan at 9:45 AM on May 30, 2013 [25 favorites]

A mensch, that one.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:48 AM on May 30, 2013

Patrick Stewart previously on domestic violence.
posted by HumanComplex at 9:49 AM on May 30, 2013

Shouldn'ta read that at work. Have to tell the boss my monitor makes my eyes red.
posted by No Robots at 9:50 AM on May 30, 2013 [4 favorites]

At last, an occasion when "awesome" really is the appropriate word.
posted by bearwife at 9:52 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

What a lovely story, and good for her for telling it.

Years ago Patrick Stewart did a gay rights video, the theme of which was "you should come out". This was years ago, long before the "It Gets Better" campaign, and it was a really sweet video and demonstration for gay rights before that became fashionable. I can't find it now, so I'll have to settle for Patrick Stewart coming out about never having had a pizza slice before.
posted by Nelson at 9:59 AM on May 30, 2013 [4 favorites]

Patrick Stewart just had his first "slice" of pizza this week

(nobody is sure if this means his first slice of pizza ever or his first NY slice, but either way, it's all good)
posted by briank at 10:00 AM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

"Set tear ducts to maximum warp....Engage".
posted by Optamystic at 10:02 AM on May 30, 2013 [15 favorites]

The part about "it is never the woman’s fault in domestic violence" was a little clunky and hetero-normative, I wonder if Stewart himself worded it better. Other than that though it's great to see that he turned some dark elements of his childhood into something that helps a lot of people in need.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:03 AM on May 30, 2013

either way, it's all good baffling
posted by nathancaswell at 10:10 AM on May 30, 2013

He clarified in a later tweet that it was his first "slice" (quote marks his). He's also a Habs fan of about 4 weeks, though Wil Wheaton was trying to convince him to come to the dark side aka the LA Kings. (Why yes I am a Sharks fan, no I'm not bitter, why do you ask?)

But yes, basically anything I've ever heard or read about Sir Patrick Stewart shows him to indeed be a mensch.
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:10 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stewart has just been interviewed on Radio 4's PM regarding the pizza slice (should be up here shortly). It's near the end of the show and is a wonderfully weird conversation.
posted by brilliantmistake at 10:10 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Awesome person being awesome, is awesome.
posted by das1969 at 10:13 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]

"He was really nice!" he said. "But he's also TOTALLY RIPPED"
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 AM on May 30, 2013 [6 favorites]

She is awesome.
posted by stormpooper at 10:19 AM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

*spouses robocop is bleeding instantly and then goes to read wait what*
posted by infini at 10:20 AM on May 30, 2013

Previously on Metafilter: Patrick Stewart: the legacy of domestic violence. "As a child, the actor regularly saw his father hit his mother. Here he describes how the horrors of his childhood remained with him in his adult life."
posted by Nelson at 10:20 AM on May 30, 2013

"The part about "it is never the woman’s fault in domestic violence" was a little clunky and hetero-normative, I wonder if Stewart himself worded it better."

He was talking privately to a woman, so I guess you can say he was just telling her again that it wasn't her fault, as many times over as he could muster. If this was a PSA or something, I'd agree, but between his mouth and her ears I can't say I'm objecting too much.
posted by Jilder at 10:27 AM on May 30, 2013 [22 favorites]

(nobody is sure if this means his first slice of pizza ever or his first NY slice, but either way, it's all good)

There's a difference? I mean, if it's not NY, it's not pizza.
posted by entropicamericana at 10:28 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]

The thread was going so nicely.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:28 AM on May 30, 2013 [8 favorites]

The Whelk, I also crush on Sir Patrick, due to the hotness, the kilt, the talent, and the accent. And now this. 'scuze me while I swoon just a little.
posted by theora55 at 10:29 AM on May 30, 2013 [5 favorites]

"Is Sir @PatStew the next James Bond, Sr?"
posted by infini at 10:31 AM on May 30, 2013

Awesome!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:37 AM on May 30, 2013

Okay, I think this settles the whole "Who is the best Captain ever?" debate once and for all. That guy respects The Chair. Dude is as heroic* in real life as he was on screen.

*(for values of Heroism that include Doing The Right Thing Because It Is The Right Thing To Do and modeling that behavior for others to follow)
posted by KingEdRa at 10:41 AM on May 30, 2013 [11 favorites]

"You are not alone."

One of the most important things you can ever tell anyone.
posted by Smedleyman at 10:52 AM on May 30, 2013 [21 favorites]

I agree that this is really touching, and really wonderful. Anything anyone does to help stop domestic abuse, and help PTSD sufferers is excellent work, worthy of praise.

However, I happen to know that Patrick Stewart is not always very nice to the people that have to be nice to him. Sometimes good people do bad things, sometimes bad people do good things.

All I'm saying is that he's a human like anyone else.
posted by chinese_fashion at 10:54 AM on May 30, 2013

I knew the story of Stewart's mother, but I didn't know that he had also acknowledged his father's PTSD and was working with veterans as well. That is truly moving beyond blame, in a way that few of us are ever capable. Patrick Stewart is not a role model for men, he is a role model for everyone.
posted by mek at 11:12 AM on May 30, 2013 [12 favorites]

All I'm saying is that he's a human like anyone else.

Patrick Stewart is a land of contrasts.

/snark

I had a whole "thing" I was going to say to this, but it's not worth it anymore. Suffice to say, man, I hope you feel good about yourself one day.
posted by daq at 11:19 AM on May 30, 2013 [7 favorites]

All I'm saying is that he's a human like anyone else.

No doubt. But he certainly makes me proud of the species with this spontaneous bit of heartfelt kindness and empathy.
posted by bearwife at 11:34 AM on May 30, 2013 [6 favorites]

chinese_fashion: "All I'm saying is that he's a human like anyone else."

Memento mori yourself, buddy.
posted by boo_radley at 11:44 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

As much of a role model in real life as he was in ST:TNG.
posted by fraxil at 11:49 AM on May 30, 2013

Sometimes good people do bad things, sometimes bad people do good things.

This is inherently wrong. There are no good or bad people; there are only people who make good or bad decisions.
posted by dubold at 11:54 AM on May 30, 2013 [6 favorites]

: "Patrick Stewart is a land of contrasts."

Well, the man really has seen everything. Yeah. He's seen it all.
posted by mullingitover at 11:57 AM on May 30, 2013 [13 favorites]

Of course good people occasionally do bad things, sometimes awful things. The difference is good people don't do them maliciously, and they own them when they realize they've done something bad.
posted by maxwelton at 12:12 PM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

Wow, that was really powerful. Patrick Stewart is a treasure.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 12:17 PM on May 30, 2013

: "Patrick Stewart is a land of contrasts."

Well, the man really has seen everything. Yeah. He's seen it all.

Heh, that came to mind for me. He clearly has a bit of a of a wild sense of humor that can include working with violent or possibly misogynistic content. Nothing wrong with that, kept in the proper contexts.

When I saw this I started to think of his roles on the MacFarlane shows and I couldn't help but think Seth could really learn a lot from Stewart about having an on/off button for when to turn on good guy mode instead of jackass comedy mode.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:38 PM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is a little clunky and human-normative.

There are Vulcans in this universe, you know
posted by C.A.S. at 12:40 PM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

I like that he is now a Habs fan. Well after they were cool.
posted by srboisvert at 12:45 PM on May 30, 2013

Patrick Stewart is a land of contrasts.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 12:48 PM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]

Looks like the first link has been pulled. Here's another
posted by Optamystic at 1:13 PM on May 30, 2013

This made me cry. It's so important, and means so much to let someone who is in an abusive situation know that they aren't alone, and that they shouldn't be ashamed. Because when you ARE in that situation, you do feel so isolated and lost.
posted by sarcasticah at 2:21 PM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

I've mentioned before how my father, a WWII Veteran, was so much like the character of Red Foreman on "That 70s Show", bald, generally grouchy and frequently threatening violence (in a far less funny way, and without a laugh track) but thankfully, never following through. When I actually showed interest in his war experience, he'd basically sum it up that he was aboard a Marine Air Corps bomber in the Pacific theater and got shot down once and rescued from the water. All the things he never said and deflected when my questions started to lead to (he wasn't a pilot, was he a bombardier or a tail gunner? how long was he in the water? did the entire crew survive? could they have been picked up by the enemy?) have led me to believe/accept that he suffered from a 'little bit' of PTSD.

But War Is Hell, and that Hell will usually be passed down to the next generation.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:40 PM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Literally the only bad thing I can say about Patrick Stewart is I just don't share his taste in erotic cakes.
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:52 PM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

Patrick Stewart is a land of contrasts.

Never seen this, that's awesome. Why is Patrick Stewart so funny as a weird yet completely oblivious pervert?
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:57 PM on May 30, 2013

He also rescues pugs.
posted by aesop at 3:51 PM on May 30, 2013

Patrick Stewart will always be one of my favorites for his role as the maitre d' in LA Story. You think with a financial statement like this, you can have ze duck?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:06 PM on May 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

Patrick and LemonSweetie at Comicpalooza.
posted by Gelatin at 4:28 PM on May 30, 2013 [10 favorites]

Gelatin: "Patrick and LemonSweetie at Comicpalooza."

Q&A Session, When the Tears Fell.
posted by radwolf76 at 5:04 PM on May 30, 2013 [25 favorites]

I flew cross-country once years ago to see him speak at an event at the National Shakespeare Theatre. I was thrilled just to get the chance to see him. I was totally stunned when I got the chance to speak to him myself at the reception. He was lovely to every single person who spoke to him, and the thing that stuck with me was how genuine he is. Maybe he has good and bad times, but I came away with the feeling that Patrick Stewart really is as wonderful as he seems.
posted by emcat8 at 6:34 PM on May 30, 2013

The piece about working with vets suffering from PTSD, in addition to his work on domestic violence, was so powerful for me.

"Mr. LaForge, we have an environmental systems malfunction on the bridge. It is as though someone is chopping onions. Report!"
posted by dry white toast at 8:06 PM on May 30, 2013

All I'm saying is that he's a human like anyone else.

Indeed. Fortunately his friendship, professional and personal, with Seth MacFarlane isn't being brought up and used against him since MacFarlane is all kinds of horrible evil to some.

If you watch The Captains he refers to how his career has made his romantic relationships suffer, and that suffering definitely comes through.
posted by juiceCake at 8:22 PM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

However, I happen to know that Patrick Stewart is not always very nice to the people that have to be nice to him.

So the fuck what. None of us are. None of us are 100% perfection and social grace 100% of the time.

Thank God most people are willing to turn a blind eye to our occasional mis-steps if the rest of our lives are good.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:45 PM on May 30, 2013 [4 favorites]

And then his public façade fell off. We see everything!

C'mon, enough with the TMZ. I mean, compare almost anyone to Shatner, and we still love him for being Shatner.

I have always been a fan of Star Trek, but aside from a few cons in the early 80s never really got into the fandom aspect of things. It's been quite weird to find that my distinctly secondary-character affection for Sulu has become wet-eyed hero worship of George Takei (for all his silly late-night appearances, as well as his courageously taking on the mantle of possibly being America's most popular gay married man -- pace the Out 50.). Patrick Stewart is on that list, too, now, particularly for this and having seen The Captains.

(My review of that movie is essentially, wow, it's full of show people. In hindsight it's obvious they all would have many of the performer personality quirks in common, of course rather than career-military personality quirks.)

Anyway, living in Wisconsin and seeing so much public policy in gleeful, pedal-to-the-metal retrograde, I think I may be overreacting to their cheerleading for a more humane society. But in many ways they are absolutely avatars of the Star Trek ethos.
posted by dhartung at 1:24 AM on May 31, 2013

I come to MetaFilter pretty much daily to find out about the world and check in with the community.

Every now and again there's a story like this that moves me to tears, genuinely lifts my heart and makes me try to be a more compassionate and better person.

Thanks for posting this. My day is happier. You've made it so, Patrick Stewart.
posted by kinetic at 4:15 AM on May 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

My wife and I were in the audience for this. It was such an amazing and genuine moment I think everyone there was just as caught up in it and emotionally affected as she was, and as he was. I know my eyes were wet.

Comicpalooza is a hot mess of a convention, but we go every year because it's the one that's local, and goddammit they're trying. There are always snafus. Moments like this make every screwup seem utterly and completely irrelevant.

(Also, the Avery Brooks session was really just as awesome for other reasons. I'm just bummed other schedule issues prevented me from attending the René Auberjonois panel and trying to ask a really obscure Benson question in the style of an overwrought, excitable Trekkie.)
posted by uberchet at 11:19 AM on May 31, 2013 [5 favorites]

Hey, Excalibur is on. Patrick Stewart in plate armor.
posted by homunculus at 11:01 PM on June 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

If you ever get a chance to see it, the episode of the BBC show "Who Do You Think You Are" which Patrick Stewart did is well worth a watch.

It's always hard to know how much people know already going into these shows, and what is being over-emphasised by editing, but in it he covers quite frankly the domestic violence he witnessed at home. It also seems, on the surface at least, that it was as part of that programme that he came to know more about his father's war time service and likely PTSD (indeed he meets the Combat Stress people in that episode, the charity who he indicates in this article that he now works with).

I have to say its one of the most surprisingly sad/powerful episodes of what is ostensibly meant to be light docu-entertainment that I've ever seen. Particularly at the end when he meets up with his brother to talk through their mutual experiences and what he's learnt about his father's war time experiences.
posted by garius at 8:35 AM on June 5, 2013