Making It So: A Memoir

Patrick Stewart describes growing up poor in Mirfield in the north of England, how he became an actor, and the highs and lows of his career from British theater to Star Trek and beyond.

I really enjoyed reading this memoir. Stewart did not utilize a ghostwriter, and the style is like he's sitting there telling you about his life, loosely chronological, but sometimes going on a bit of a (delightful) related tangent about something that happened later. He spends a fair amount of time on his childhood and training in acting prior to joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, and I found it fascinating to read about what he learned and what his process was for certain roles. Stewart has a way of telling you stories where, yes, he meets all sorts show more of famous people, but usually there's some sort of funny, self-deprecating anecdote that I found delightful. I am most familiar with his work in X-Men and A Christmas Carol, though of course I know he was Jean-Luc Picard. It's just that my family didn't really watch The Next Generation, so I've only seen random episodes 30-plus years ago when my babysitters were watching it. He clearly expects that his readers will be familiar with his Star Trek work, and has observations to make about specific episodes, rife with spoilers. Whether talking about that or his theater work, he's generous to his fellow actors. He's reflective, and talks about both what he's proud of and what he regrets. I ended the book feeling like I'd gotten to know and appreciate someone whose work I've enjoyed. show less

I read a prior review that said Stewart's coverage here of his Star Trek years was minimal, and briefly summarized it. So I thought, "Guess I'll pass, then." But later I found a free copy in our local Little Library, figured I'd give it a try, and thank goodness. It is true this is an actor's biography, not a Star Trek memoir. But the role of Captain Picard is clearly one that matters to Patrick Stewart, as he makes constant reference to it throughout. By the time he does address it, it has been placed in the context of a wonderfully told career story that I did not regret any episodes of. Stewart is a surprisingly good writer, though there is the sense that he didn't pace himself well and was forced to compact the latter half of his show more career into fewer pages with more brevity.

He is only a year younger than my father, but had a very different upbringing. He was born to lower middle class in Yorkshire, England. He loved his family, but notes that his father was abusive towards his mother and he learned how to intervene. Fortunately by the time he moved out, that seems to have ended. He was a passably good journalist and salesperson when he tried his hand at those, but neither could fire him with the passion of acting. At first it had been merely an escape from his home life, but then he learned to appreciate it as an art form that requires study and dedication.

It is clear that he is passionate about his art. A good portion of the content is devoted to what he learned about acting and who he learned it from. In this sense it reads a bit like a grandfather passing down his wisdom, and I had no objections to that. He has a lot of gratitude to show for those who taught him, and for his fellow acting students who also provided guidance. It provides wonderful insight into the challenges of the work that increases my appreciation not just for this actor but all who pursue it. Like most other biographies of the famous, there are fascinating encounters with other famous: he performs on stage and plays charades with Vivien Leigh, chauffeurs Paul McCartney, etc. He also mentions the contemporaries he knew before we did: Brian Blessed, Malcom McDowell, Ben Kingsley, others. Eventually his age begins to tell, as he encounters younger performers we already knew better, Sting being the first example.

One of my takeaways is how incredibly lucky he was. His passion for acting set him on the right path and he deserves credit for taking some risky choices to pursue it when safer roads beckoned. But from graduation onward, most of the big golden opportunities fell into his lap unsought. He had to learn what Star Trek was or who the X-Men were before he could appreciate what he'd been given. These are the roles that made him world-famous beyond his dreams. He once emerged from a theatre into a crowd that mistook him for David Warner, when a disappointed acting fan asked him "Are you anybody?" He has long since answered that question. show less

I was inordinately excited to read this new memoir by Patrick Stewart, or more specifically to listen to the audiobook narrated by the author. I was delighted by his engaging narrative of his life and acting career, particularly Stewart's insights into the craft of acting, richly illustrated with charming anectdotes. If you're a fan of Stewart from Star Trek: The Next Generation or X-Men, you're going to have to wait a while to get to them. Stewart did not gain global fame in TV and films until after he was 46 years old so the bulk of his life, and this book, focuses on his stage career. Personally I find these stories the most fascinating part of the book, as does Stewart apparently since theater portion of his live gets the most show more detailed description.

Stewart was born in wartime Northern England in a poor family in the town of Mirfield. He witnessed the domestic abuse of his mother at the hands of his father as something that affected him throughout life. At an early age, a teacher handed him a work of Shakespeare which set him on a course to study and perform in theater. As a poor kid from the North, the likelihood of Stewart making a career in theater was unlikely but he was admitted to Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and received grants to be able to attend.

After completing his studies, Stewart worked with various theater companies before achieving his ultimate goal of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 26! He was a member of the company from 1966 to 1982 and performed in regular RSC visiting productions in Los Angeles, foreshadowing his future work in Hollywood. Stewart's stories of his Star Trek: The Next Generation are probably going to be familiar to most Trekkers, but they're nice to hear from his point of view. Of his post-Trek career, Stewart is most enthusiastic about his one-man show of A Christmas Carol and his collaborations with Ian McKellen, productions I've regretted not being able to see, but maybe it's not too late?

Stewart has always come across as a warm and generous person (and deceptively funny). He tells stories about his fondness for the people he's worked with over the years and they'll make you feel warmly for people ranging from Vivien Leigh to Rod Steiger. His admiration for Ian Holm never wavers as he sympathetically describes a stage fright breakdown that lead to Holm not performing in the theater for many years. The big flaw in his character is that his dedication to work made him an absent father and husband. Stewart is honest about how his first two marriages fell apart not long after his infidelity. His current marriage to Sunny Ozell, who is younger than his own children, seems odd but they appear to be happy.

This a good book for anyone interested in an inside look into acting from one of our best living actors. show less

A wonderfully candid and honest memoir about a committed Shakespeare player who found himself deep into representing pop culture in sci-fi without ever having been a consumer of it himself. There is a lot of reflection and analysis on how the rootless, peripatetic actor's life led to two failed marriages and infidelity along the way to finding love and stability with his wife at time of writing. There is much about the stage career outside of movies and while there is significant Next Generation, Picard, and X-Men content, hardcore fans of the franchises may be disappointed. Stewart comes across to me as an authentic, self-aware human committed and deeply purposeful in his craft.

Road trip audiobook!

I've been putting this audiobook off for a while because of the daunting 19 hour runtime, but a drive from Nebraska to Connecticut finally gave me the opportunity to dive in. I did trim off a few hours by increasing the playback speed to 1.25, and that change also gave Stewart's aging voice a crisp Picard-at-his-prime commanding snap.

Patrick Stewart takes a long ramble through his life and distinguished career, revealing himself to be a bit of an ass, overflowing with ego and ambition, but still managing to hold my attention for hours on end with his anecdotes. I came at this book as a Trekkie, but I enjoyed his extensive recounting of his performances in Shakespearean plays too.

Stewart does come off as an HR show more nightmare though as he frequently engages in sexual relations with the actresses with whom he shares the stage and other women with whom he works. He also has trouble with the fidelity thing, cheating on his wives with younger women.

My feelings about the man are mixed, but I was glad to have his company as I tooled down the highway. show less

Book 250 - Sir Patrick Stewart - Making it so - A Memoir

Another audiobook, magnificently read by the great man himself. After having listened to Matthew Perry also read his biography I now know this is the way forward when wanting to get really into the heart and soul of someone. The raw emotion - both full of happiness and heartbreak is there in the narrator’s voice. The pregnant pauses in all the right places…the emotional vocal punches…it is astonishing.

It is a story that is filled with determination from truly humble beginnings… Stewart is brutally honest about early family difficulties and the hardships being born during World War 2.

The life story reads like a who’s who of British stage and screen… Stewart reacts like show more any starstruck youngster when he eventually realises that acting is the way forward. The opening third of the book is all about his childhood and it is an absolute pleasure to be allowed in. In one of his early roles he worked with Vivien Leigh…the Vivien Leigh…he was besotted and rather than ruin the full tale…the book is worth buying for this alone.

Further stories lead him to eventually reaching his goal as being part of the Royal Shakespeare Company… Stewart doesn’t sugar coat things…it was hard…life was hard…there were so many downs before the ups. As a Sci-fi fan it was the final third that I thought I was really interested in, the Star Trek part, but it was eye opening in discovering how it all started.

So many great stories…Sting and the Police had me crying with laughter and Stewart’s first meeting with Gene Roddenberry did not quite go to plan. His true friendship with Ian McKellen and the advice offered by McKellen when Stewart was offered the lead role in Star Trek The Next Generation is so touching. show less

I really appreciated the descriptions of his early life; his developing interest in the theater as a working-class kid from a small industrial town in Yorkshire; his theater training and his work in regional theater. I loved his account of going on tour with and working with Vivian Leigh. I liked that he described the way people directed, acted, and trained with specifics. The book is less about Star Trek than I expected, which was fine. He did drop some nuggets about what it was like to work with that franchise, and how his attitudes towards that work evolved over time. He comes across as self-deprecating. The book makes me want to find additional books about working in regional theater in the mid-to-late 20th century. Part of what show more makes Stewart interesting is that his big leading roles and fame didn't come till he was in his mid-40s. show less