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Reports of Patrick Stewart’s impending retirement have been greatly exaggerated, at least if Stewart himself has anything to say about it. Recently, rumors started circulating on the internet that the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday would be the actor’s final role with the icon bowing out after his return as Charles Xavier/Professor X. It’s news that left fans with mixed feelings, but it turns out those rumors may just be nothing more than that: rumors and speculation. The actor himself says he “can’t imagine” ever retiring.
In an interview with TV Insider, Stewart’s currently very busy schedule—which includes not just Doomsday, but Shakespeare and some voice work as well—was brought up and he was directly asked if he was retired or changing his approach to the current phase of his career. While Stewart did admit that at his age there are fewer roles to choose from, he isn’t done yet—and may never be.
“As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer available roles as we get older,” Stewart said. “That being said, I still continue to receive interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work, like voicing a pig’s head in Riz Ahmed’s brilliant new series Bait. I can’t imagine ever officially ‘retiring’. I’ll always and forever be an actor.
Why Did The Internet Think Stewart Was Retiring After Doomsday?
With Stewart making it pretty clear he’s not leaving the screen or stage anytime soon if he has anything to say about it, that begs the question: why was the internet ready to mourn for him once Doomsday hits theaters in December? It seems like this may just be a case of conversational speculation ending up misconstrued as fact and then getting passed around as such. The rumor that Stewart was retiring after Avengers: Doomsday goes back to last November and an episode of Kristian Harloff’s podcast where there was a discussion about Stewart stepping back from acting after his next outing as the beloved Professor X. While nothing was actually confirmed at that time, people ran with the idea. It surfaced again this week, only this time being shared more as fact rather than speculation.
Considering that rumors, reports, and speculation are common in the entertainment industry, what likely gave this one a bit more credibility comes down, largely, to the longevity of Stewart’s career. Stewart will celebrate his 86th birthday on July 13th and has been an actor since 1959. Over the years, he’s been a part of some truly iconic projects and franchises—we can’t even begin to imagine Star Trek without him, thanks to his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Given that he’s had such an extensive career, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine that he would be ready to step back and enjoy the fruits of his labor, as it were. On the flip side, however, it’s also not much of a stretch to see the legendary actor continuing in his career. Most recently, he lent his voice to one of the sheep in The Sheep Detectives, and we’ll be seeing him in Avengers: Doomsday in December. And while his comments about there being reduced roles for actors of his age are accurate and it means we may see less of him, less doesn’t mean none. Whatever the future holds, Stewart’s comments make it pretty clear that Doomsday won’t be the last we see of the actor—and that is something fans should be very relieved to hear.
Now we just need to make sure Professor X makes it out of Doomsday alive…
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