Ian McKellen Mourns Patrick Stewart's Death

Ian McKellen has shared a touching tribute to his best friend and "X-Men" co-star Patrick Stewart, who died on Wednesday at age 86. McKellen spoke of their close friendship, which began over fifty years ago when they were both ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

"Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end," McKellen shared in a lengthy Instagram post. "You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love."

McKellen's first strong memory of Stewart was a few years later, meeting him in London when Stewart told him about an offer to take over a leading part in "Star Trek." "He took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway."

Stewart and McKellen's bond deepened while starring in the "X-Men" franchise as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, respectively. They appeared together in "X-Men" (2000), "X2: X-Men United" (2003), "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006), "The Wolverine" (2013), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014). They are also set to appear in "Avengers: Doomsday" in December, which marks Stewart's final on-screen appearance.

In a 2020 "Wired" interview, Stewart recalled how their friendship blossomed on the "X-Men" set. "We had adjoining trailers... On those kind of movies, you spend more time sitting in your trailer than you do in front of the camera. So, Ian and I hung out together, drinking tea — and maybe in the afternoon, something a little stronger — and we got to know one another."

Stewart also revealed in his 2023 memoir, "Making It So," that McKellen advised against him taking the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so," Stewart wrote. "‘No! No, you must not do that. You must not. You have too much important theater work to do. You can’t throw that away to do TV. You can’t. No!’" Stewart explained that he felt he could return to theater later, but an offer for a hit American TV series might not come again.

Stewart died at his Los Angeles home following a brief battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. Marvel Studios paid tribute to Stewart, highlighting his role as Professor X and stating that he "brought a gravitas and profundity to the role, earning fans across the globe and helping to transform Super Hero storytelling forever." Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, called Stewart "one of the greats of stage and screen today" and said, "I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days."