Ian McKellen Remembers Patrick Stewart: ‘A Man to Rely On, Admire, and Love’

Ian McKellen has paid tribute to his longtime friend and colleague, English actor Patrick Stewart, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86.

In his remembrance, McKellen recalled meeting Stewart half a century ago as young actors, noting how his friend remained true to his roots throughout his life. Sharing the tribute on social media, McKellen addressed him as “Sir Patrick Stewart.” Stewart was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001 and received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for his contributions to the arts.

“Before anything else, Patrick was defined by being born and raised in Yorkshire, the proud northern English county he loved until the end,” McKellen wrote. “It was evident in his accented voice and in the blunt honesty with which he shared his thoughts and feelings. Yorkshiremen have no patience for half-truths or shying away from major issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, making him a man to rely on, to admire, and in my case, to love.”

McKellen said they first met while acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago, though they were not in the same productions at the time. “My first vivid memory was a few years later,” McKellen said, “when I met him on a street in central London and he told me about an offer to take over a leading role in ‘Star Trek.’” At the time, McKellen questioned whether Stewart should risk leaving the stage and losing himself to Hollywood.

Fortunately, “he took the risk,” McKellen added. “Thank goodness for us all that he did—not only for his devoted Trekkies but for film and theatre audiences who marvelled at how he used his international fame to star in a string of cinematic successes, ‘X-Men’ among them, as well as great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter, and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, London’s West End, and Broadway.”

While America was his adopted home—where he met his wife, singer Sunny Ozell—Stewart “never forsook his origins,” McKellen said. McKellen included a photo of Stewart taken by the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and noted that the actor’s proudest achievement was his appointment as the university’s Chancellor.

Stewart and McKellen shared one of Hollywood’s most celebrated friendships. In 2000, Stewart was cast as the popular Marvel comic-book character Professor Xavier in X-Men, reprising the role as Professor X in X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, and later in X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was in these films that he built a deep bond with McKellen, who played his character’s nemesis, Magneto. Throughout his career, Stewart continued appearing onstage, notably joining McKellen for Waiting for Godot in 2009 and again in 2014.

“Going around with Patrick is like going around with the pope,” McKellen said of Stewart in 2023. “Not that people genuflect, but he has touched so many lives.”

Source link