Patrick Stewart, who has died aged 86, was best known for portraying Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men. His extensive career also included a less familiar villainous role: the voice of Max Winters in the 2007 feature TMNT, directed by Kevin Munroe.
The film represented Paramount’s attempt to bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back to cinemas after a period in which the franchise had continued through television animation. Rather than drawing its principal antagonist from the comics, it introduced Winters, an industrialist whose army of ancient monsters threatens New York City. Shredder, the Turtles’ familiar adversary, has already been defeated when the story begins.
Victory has not kept the brothers united. With the family growing apart, their teacher Splinter struggles to preserve their bond, becoming increasingly concerned as strange events unfold in the city. To confront the monsters, the Turtles must first repair their fractured relationship. Splinter’s voice performers include Mako Iwamatsu and Greg Baldwin, while Chris Evans voices Casey Jones, predating his role as Captain America.
Winters’ history extends far beyond his modern identity. Once known as Yaotl, he was a warlord who sought world domination and attempted to achieve immortality through the power of a portal that opens every 30 centuries. Although he initially pursued eternal life, he eventually regarded it as a curse rather than a gift. Stewart’s role therefore combined a threatening adversary with a character burdened by his own pursuit of immortality.
