Patrick Stewart's Best Star Trek Line Will Always Be Relevant

Published Oct 29, 2026, 5:15 PM EDT Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers. Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism. Legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart, of Star Trek, X-Men, and Shakespearean fame, tragically passed away on Thursday, but his greatest quote as Captain Jean-Luc Picard will live on. Patrick Stewart died on October 29, and a social media post on his official account confirmed that he died after suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia at the age of 86. He leaves behind an impressive legacy as a film and television actor that spanned 67 years and brought him global fame. Though he was a classically trained actor and even knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, Stewart gained much of his notoriety from starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stewart began playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 1987, and he would go on to reprise the role in several movies and the sequel series Star Trek: Picard in 2020. Suffice to say, Star Trek was near the top of the list of Patrick Stewart's best movies and shows. Patrick Stewart may have passed away, but his greatest quote as Captain Picard will always be relevant. That quote came quite early in The Next Generation, when Picard told Data that "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness; that is life." There are plenty of reasons why this quote stands out in the long list of Picard's pearls of wisdom, from showcasing his wisdom and resilience to simply being a good observation. The real reason it's his best, however, is because it's timeless. Patrick Stewart Succeeded In An Impossible Task Credit: MovieStillsDB Part of the reason Patrick Stewart's role as Captain Picard has endured as a cultural touchstone of science fiction in general for decades at this point is because of the circumstances he was under. Stewart was, of course, fantastic at playing Picard, but he was also facing an impossible situation. Stewart had to replace William Shatner's Captain Kirk, the original Star Trek captain, and he had to lead the first Star Trek show nearly two decades after the original series ended. Sci-fi fans are notoriously territorial and opinionated, so filling Shatner's shoes was a nearly impossible task. Captain Kirk was already a beloved icon by 1987, and he's still the best captain in Star Trek in the eyes of many a fan. Stewart had almost no chance of making Picard as iconic and popular as Kirk already was, and yet, he managed it anyway. Despite Kirk's legacy, his original status, and all the circumstances being stacked against him, Stewart made Picard an icon. Picard's relationship with Kirk also ties into his best quote, in a way. For some Star Trek fans, there was never anything that Stewart could do to replace Kirk. He could have (and arguably was) the best captain in science fiction history, and some fans would still prefer Kirk. In other words, Stewart could have committed no mistakes and still lost. It's remarkable that he succeeded so thoroughly, even though there are still some holdouts. Star Trek Was Not The End Of Patrick Stewart's Sci-Fi Journey Most actors only get to play one truly iconic character in their entire careers, and even then, only if they're exceptionally lucky. Patrick Stewart, however, continued to be a science fiction legend long after the ending of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and he even managed to play another sci-fi icon: Professor Charles Xavier of X-Men fame. Stewart would play Professor X for half a dozen movies, including the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday. Stewart also managed to portray another classic science fiction character even before his Star Trek role. In David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel Dune, Stewart portrayed Gurney Halleck opposite Kyle MacLachlan's Paul Atreides. As with all of his roles, Stewart brought a Shakespearean gravitas and command of his line readings that set his portrayal apart from Josh Brolin's more recent outing as Gurney. Between Dune, X-Men, and Star Trek, it's no wonder how Patrick Stewart managed to become an all-time legend of science fiction. He embodied some of the most dignified and respectable characters in sci-fi history over the course of his career. More importantly, he brought the seriousness and entirely earnest dedication of classical acting to the realm of science fiction. He could deliver a line about Klingons with as much gravity as a line from Macbeth. The world is darker now for lack of Sir Patrick Stewart.