Patrick Stewart, Peter Jackson knighted
Actor and director add knighthoods to their list of accolades
Last Updated: Thursday, December 31, 2009 | 12:46 PM ET
CBC News
Patrick Stewart, shown here at the Tony Awards in 2008, will be knighted by Queen Elizabeth in the new year. (Peter Kramer/Associated Press)Actor Patrick Stewart and film writer and director Peter Jackson will now be known as Sir Patrick and Sir Peter, respectively, in their home countries.
Stewart will be awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth in Britain's New Year Honours List, while Jackson has been made a knight in New Zealand.
Stewart, the 69-year-old actor who played Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was honoured for his services to drama during his career that's spanned half a century.
"I am very proud to receive this honour," he told the London Telegraph. "Theatre is and has always been my great joy."
Stewart spent 16 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and this year garnered critical acclaim for his role in Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen in London's West End.
In 2001, Stewart was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Jackson, whose Lord of the Rings trilogy scooped up 17 Oscars, has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his "services to film."
Director Peter Jackson has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. (Chris Park/Associated Press)His trilogy showcased New Zealand's unique scenery as J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy land and created a spike in tourism to the country.
The annual list lauding New Zealand's notable citizens is the country's highest honour and is sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth, the country's head of state.
Jackson, 48, described the honour as an "incredible moment," and told the Sydney Morning Herald that he considered it a tribute to his parents.
"My parents, Bill and Joan Jackson, who gave me the most valuable gift of all — unqualified encouragement and unconditional support — would have been beside themselves with pride at this moment.
"I didn't think anything would surpass the 2004 Academy Awards," he added, "but I was wrong."
Jackson's film The Lovely Bones will open in Canada in January. He's currently working on the two-movie Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, also based on a Tolkien book.
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