Patrick Stewart admits he missed a lot of his children’s lives when they were growing up because of his career.
The ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ star has two kids, son Daniel and daughter Sophia, with his first wife Sheila Falconer and although he sees a lot of them now they’re adults he wishes he could have spent more time with them during their formative years.
However, it was a sacrifice Patrick had to make because he was trying to establish himself in his chosen profession and then when he landed the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in sci-fi TV series ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ in 1987 his shooting schedule was gruelling.
In an interview with the New York Daily News newspaper, he said: "When I got married and I had children, I missed huge amounts of time. I would see my kids on Sundays if I was lucky. It was hard on my kids."
Patrick divorced Sheila in 1990 after 24 years of marriage and went on to marry Wendy Neuss – one of the producers on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ – in August 2000, but their union ended in divorce three years later.
The 74-year-old actor has been wed to Sunny Ozell, since September 2013 and the couple set up home in Brooklyn, New York, where she was based before meeting Patrick.
Although he was born in Yorkshire, Northern England, Patrick admits he feels more at home in ‘The Big Apple’ than anywhere else in the world.
Recalling his first impression of Park Slope, the Brooklyn neighbourhood where he lives with singer/songwriter Sunny, he revealed: "I saw someone look up at us (with recognition) and I thought, ‘Oh, s**t, I don’t want to have to deal with this. And, as we drew abreast, this guy said, ‘Hey, Mr. Stewart, welcome to the neighbourhood. Enjoy.’ I thought, ‘Ooh, I like this place.’ "
Remembering his first trip to New York in 1971 as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company that toured ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’, he added: "I was never intimidated or frightened by New York. For a long time, I felt more at home here than I did in London."
Patrick Stewart: My career was hard on my kids
