Patrick Stewart Had A Surprising Love For This Classic MTV Animated Series

The late, great Sir Patrick Stewart had a silly streak you might not know about. Case in point: He was a big, big fan of Mike Judge's MTV animated series "Beavis and Butt-Head," the perennial Gen-X text about two snickering teenage wastoids who do little other than make butt jokes. In a 2020 interview with National Post, Stewart called the series "brilliant."

The actor landed in the population's mass consciousness when he began playing the stern authority figure of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1987. Film fans might also have recognized him from earlier films like John Boorman's "Excalibur," David Lynch's "Dune," or Tobe Hooper's "Lifeforce," and he played very serious characters in those films as well. Stewart was an authoritative, stalwart presence in most of his roles. 

It wasn't until after becoming famous on "Star Trek" that Stewart began to embrace his silly side. You might have seen Stewart's performance of "'A' You're Adorable" from the set of "Next Generation," or his spirited humor on his 1994 episode of "Saturday Night Live." He was King Richard the Lionheart in Mel Brooks' spoof "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," and, in 2013, Stewart wore a lobster costume for Halloween. He had a regular role on the animated comedy series "American Dad!," and turned up on episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama." Stewart established his actorly reputation with po-faced and classical roles, but eventually embraced comedy as well. 

And, as he himself confessed, he was a longtime lover of the lowbrow "Beavis and Butt-Head." Indeed, according to the interviewer, Stewart was very good at imitating Beavis' gravelly laugh.

Patrick Stewart wasn't wholly articulate about his love for "Beavis and Butt-Head," a phenomenon many of the show's fans might have encountered themselves. Sometimes it's just hard to describe why something connects with you. Stewart said: 

"I love that show. I'm so sorry that it's gone. [...] I don't know why it appealed to me, but it did. It was brilliant, that's why. Incredible characters. Heh heh heh heh." 

When the interviewer suggested that a lowbrow cartoon might provide a balance to Stewart's notoriously highbrow tastes — he spent many years in the Royal Shakespeare company, after all — Stewart bristled at the implication. "I would call 'Beavis and Butt-Head' extremely highbrow," he said, "Not lowbrow at all." One can certainly argue that "Beavis and Butt-Head" was a dumb show made by smart people. It can even be seen as a sociological study of the modern teen experience in the mid-1990s, a portrait of two young males who have been expertly trained by television to remain dumb and seek out only the basest of creature pleasures.

Stewart noted that he was always a fan of slapstick comedy, going back to his childhood: 

"I grew up loving Laurel and Hardy. In fact, my grandmother babysat Stan Laurel when he was a few months old — she ran a boarding house in the northeast of England. I worshipped them. And of course I loved Chaplin, and when I was a little older I fell in love with Danny Kaye."

Just because Stewart had a talent for playing serious characters didn't mean he liked serious entertainment all the time. 

Patrick Stewart even admitted that he always assumed his career would eventually provide him more opportunities to play comedic roles. Sadly, when establishing himself, Stewart recognized that he was seen as a non-comedic figure. In his words: 

"I always thought, when I became a professional, that I would just move into comedy. [...] But it never happened. I became this sort of, ugh, somber, dreary, kind of pompous figure."

Of course, as it so happens, Stewart did eventually move into comedy. Not exclusively, of course, but after "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Stewart certainly began appearing in more comedic roles. We've already mentioned his role on "American Dad!," which proved Stewart was an undersung comedy genius, and the actor was involved in several other collaborations with that show's creator, Seth MacFarlane. Stewart appeared on multiple episodes of MacFarlane's "Family Guy," and narrated his films "Ted" and "Ted 2." 

One might also happily recall Stewart's expert comedic turn on the TV series "Extras." (This scene is a work of genius.) He also did a lot of whimsical voice work, and notoriously played the voice of the Poop Emoji in "The Emoji Movie." He was certainly being goofy while gleefully chanting, "We're number two!" In light of his whimsy, then, it's easy to understand why Patrick Stewart might enjoy the idiotic antics of "Beavis and Butt-Head." 

In 2020, Stewart lamented that "Beavis and Butt-Head" had gone away. One can only imagine his delight when Mike Judge brought his characters into the modern era in 2022. His beloved cackling teen wastoids lived on.