Ian McKellen Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Patrick Stewart and Recalls the STAR TREK Advice He Got Completely Wrong
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart gave us one of the greatest rivalries in superhero movie history as Magneto and Professor X. Offscreen, however, they shared something even better: a friendship that lasted decades. Now, McKellen has paid a touching tribute to his longtime friend following Stewart’s death at the age of 86.
The beloved Star Trek and X-Men actor died on October 28 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. His death was announced Thursday, October 29.
McKellen honored Stewart in a heartfelt Instagram post, remembering the actor's honesty, loyalty, and Yorkshire roots, which remained an important part of who he was throughout his life.
“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.
“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.
“The two actors first crossed paths at the Royal Shakespeare Company long before they became household names. McKellen recalled a conversation in London when Stewart revealed he had been offered a starring role in Star Trek. At the time, McKellen actually worried that moving to Hollywood might hurt his friend's theater career.
He recalled: “We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk — getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theater audiences, who marveled 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.
Of course, Stewart took the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a decision that changed his career forever. Thankfully, McKellen's concerns proved unnecessary. Stewart became a science fiction icon while continuing to deliver acclaimed performances onstage.
Their friendship really took off when they reunited for 2000's X-Men, with Stewart playing Charles Xavier and McKellen portraying Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto.
In a previously interview, Stewart explained how spending time together between scenes helped turn them into close friends.
“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, and the charm of it was that we found we had so much in common.”
Their friendship became something fans loved almost as much as their onscreen rivalry. McKellen even officiated Stewart's wedding to singer Sunny Ozell in 2013. Stewart had a pretty funny way of describing their relationship during that same Wired interview.
“I’ll be frank with you — I’m in love with [him],” Stewart joked. “But then, so is my wife in love with him, too, so that’s all right.”
Their collaborations continued through X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), a cameo in The Wolverine (2013), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Stewart later returned as Professor X in Logan (2017).
They also reunited on Broadway in 2013 for productions of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett and No Man's Land by Harold Pinter, before bringing No Man's Land to London's West End in 2016.
In his tribute, McKellen also reflected on Stewart's life in America, his marriage to Ozell, and the pride he took in his hometown roots.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
McKellen ended his tribute with a reminder that fans still have one final performance from Stewart to look forward to.
“His farewell performance in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is yet to be seen,” McKellen concluded.
Avengers: Doomsday, which arrives in theaters this December, will feature both actors returning to the Marvel universe, giving fans one last chance to see Stewart and McKellen in a movie together.
It's a fitting final chapter for two actors who brought Professor X and Magneto to life and gave fans so many memorable moments over the years.
Stewart leaves behind an extraordinary career spanning Shakespeare, Star Trek, Marvel, and decades of incredible performances. But McKellen's tribute reminds us that beyond all those iconic roles was a man whose friendship meant just as much as his work.