Patrick Stewart’s estranged son Daniel pays emotional tribute after actor’s death

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Patrick Stewart’s estranged son, Daniel Stewart, broke his silence two days after the actor died at 89, sharing a photo of them on stage as a tribute to his late father.

The post comes years after Stewart publicly opened up about his strained relationship with his children and expressed regret over his commitment to his acting career.

Daniel Stewart pays tribute to father Patrick Stewart with throwback photograph

Daniel shared the photograph on X (formerly Twitter), showing himself giving his father a piggyback ride on stage while the two co-starred in the 2001 play 'Johnson Over Jordan'. Although he did not include a caption, the photograph holds particular significance given Daniel’s own career as an actor and his professional collaborations with his father.

Daniel followed in Stewart’s footsteps shortly after graduating from high school. Besides sharing the stage in 'Johnson Over Jordan,' the father and son appeared together in the 1993 thriller 'Death Train.'

He also portrayed Jean-Luc Picard’s son in an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' during its fifth season. The episode was titled 'The Inner Light'. Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, October 28, following a brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Daniel’s tribute comes three years after Stewart spoke about his relationship with his children in an October 2023 interview with Irish Independent. The 'X-Men' actor admitted that his relationship with them was “practically non-existent,” expressing regret over the distance between them.

“I never thought this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s—they’re not children anymore, they’re adults. And my relationship with them is practically non-existent,” Stewart said at the time.

The 'Logan' actor attributed their strained relationship to his dedication to his acting career, admitting that his professional commitments often took priority over his responsibilities as a parent.

“I could’ve done better as a parent when my kids were little,” he explained. “I was just obsessed with my work, and everything else took second place. I’m trying to correct that now whenever possible with my grandchildren.”

Stewart, a grandfather of four, also expressed that his children appeared to have moved past the difficulties, adding, “And my own children seem to have forgiven me.”

Patrick Stewart’s family life and marriages

Stewart and Daniel were last photographed together at the red carpet premiere of their STARZ sitcom Blunt Talk in Los Angeles on August 10, 2015. The legendary actor shared his son, Daniel, and daughter, Sophie Stewart, 54, with his first wife, actor and dancer Sheila Falconer.

Stewart and Falconer married in 1966 and divorced in 1990 after more than two decades together. The 'X-Men' actor went on to marry television producer Wendy Neuss in August 2000. However, their marriage ended in divorce three years later.

In 2008, Stewart met singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell while she was working as a waitress in New York City. According to People, the actor was performing in Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music when they met.

After several years of dating, Stewart and Ozell married in September 2013. The couple remained together until the actor’s death on Wednesday, bringing their marriage to an end after more than a decade.