Patrick Stewart has died at 86. Famous for playing Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, he also took on a villain’s role in the 2007 movie TMNT. He provided the voice of Max Winters, a businessman with an ancient past.
Directed by Kevin Munroe, the movie begins after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have defeated Shredder. The brothers have grown apart, and their teacher, Splinter, is struggling to hold the family together. When strange events begin in New York City, the Turtles must rebuild their relationship to face Winters’s army of ancient monsters.
Winters was created specifically for the film, rather than adapted from an existing comic book character. Long ago, he was an army leader called Yaotl who wanted to rule the world. He tried to gain immortality—the ability to live forever—through a special portal, or doorway, that opens once every 3,000 years.
Although Yaotl sought endless life, he eventually saw it as a curse rather than a gift. Stewart’s deep voice helped give the character a threatening presence. The cast also includes Chris Evans as Casey Jones, a role he played before becoming Captain America.
