As people mourned the loss of Patrick Stewart, the internet was full of heartwarming stories and clips from various interviews, TV shows and films. Of course, when it came to his acting roles, scenes featuring him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek led the way, followed by him as Charles Xavier in X-Men. There were, however, also videos of one role that I had not previously been aware of. That was his part in the gay romantic comedy film, Jeffrey (1995).

By 1995, Stewart was already well-known for his theatre work and had just established himself on American TV in Star Trek: The Next Generation. This meant that taking a queer role was a bit of a big deal. Big-name actors had taken on queer roles before, for example, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia (1993), but those were the kind of roles that attract Academy Awards. This was something different.

Jeffrey was based on a play by Paul Rudnick, who also wrote the screenplay. The film revolves around Jeffrey (Steven Weber), a gay man who has sworn off sex due to fears caused by the AIDS epidemic. Shortly after choosing celibacy, he meets Steve (Michael T. Weiss), a handsome guy who is also HIV positive.

Speaking about the story, Patrick Stewart saw Jeffrey’s situation as more than simply a fear of getting sick: “If it were only a fear of AIDS, it would be quite a different piece of work. Jeffrey is afraid of getting close, close in any lasting sense.”

It is not that he is afraid of dying, but rather he is afraid of falling in love with someone and then losing them.

Stewart plays his friend Sterling, an interior decorator, who is in a loving long-term relationship with dancer Darius (Bryan Batt), who is HIV positive too. Stewart, in tandem with Batt, basically steals the show, something some may have caught from the clips online. Sterling is a fun character and doesn’t stray into stereotype.

Stewart was particularly concerned about this: “I would say to Chris [Ashley, the director] and Paul [Rudnick], who are both gay men, ‘Please tell me if there is any moment at which you think that doesn’t ring true or if I’m using some cliché which would appear to be a shallow approach to what we’re doing’.” Stewart also gets to show his serious acting skills at times as he offers Jeffrey sage advice and deals with his partner’s illness.

It’s an odd, fourth wall-breaking movie. I think Rotten Tomatoes sums it up nicely: “Jeffrey offends as readily as it amuses, but an outstanding performance from Patrick Stewart keeps it from going completely off the rails.”

I found it funny and surprisingly poignant as it deals with what gay men were going through at the time. This is captured particularly in Patrick Stewart’s Sterling. Stewart was mainly a dramatic actor but, when he got to do comedies, he had amazing comic timing.

It isn’t a perfect film, but I can only imagine what I would have gotten out of it had I seen it at the time, being a queer, teenage Star Trek fan.

The movie also has a surprisingly all-star cast in the cameo department with Christine Baranski, Sigourney Weaver, Kathy Najimy, Nathan Lane, Olympia Dukakis, and Jimmy Somerville, amongst others, popping up.

On the Academy Award comment at the beginning, I was surprised and yet unsurprised to read that there had been some Oscar buzz around Patrick Stewart’s role. Surprised that a film like Jeffrey would get the attention, but unsurprised, as Patrick Stewart was so good in the role. Best Supporting Actor? I could see it. Recommended viewing.