Ian McKellen, the actor known for roles like Magneto in the X-Men movies, has paid a touching tribute to late star Patrick Stewart , who died on Wednesday at the age of 86. Stewart portrayed Professor Charles Xavier or Professor X on screen, Magneto’s sworn nemesis. Despite their on-screen relationship being that of enemies, McKellen and Stewart have long been friends off-screen.
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show in 2017 Stewart had recalled McKellen’s remark on their relationship. “America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“Well, 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,” McKellen said, lauding Stewart’s impressive body of work. 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 further said of his friend. “He said something the other day … one of the nicest things ever. He said, ‘Yeah, Patrick Stewart and I — I really feel that [at] last I have a brother,’” Stewart said.
Stewart, meanwhile, had earlier revealed that his bond with McKellen was strengthened when they played their roles in the X-Men movies. “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. The two have also shared kisses in public. Among those remembering the legendary actor is his close friend and X-Men co-star Ian McKellen , who penned an emotional tribute to him on social media, recalling their decades-long friendship and describing him as a man of honesty, warmth and immense talent.
And the charm of it was that we found that we had so much in common,” he had told Wired in 2020. McKellen had also officiated Stewart’s wedding to singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell in 2013. Stewart, a longtime LGBTQ ally, had always been supportive of McKellen, who publicly came out as gay in 1988. Earlier reporting noted: Ian McKellen remembers his 50-year friendship with Patrick Stewart in emotional tribute; recalls warning him against joining Star Trek Hollywood is mourning the death of Patrick Stewart , who passed away on October 29 at the age of 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
A few years later, he ran into Patrick on a London street, where the latter told him about an offer to take over a leading role in Star Trek. Earlier reporting noted: He went on to acknowledge that Patrick’s decision to take the role had been a risk worth taking, adding, “Well, 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.”
Earlier reporting noted: Ian also recalled how they first met as aspiring actors at the Royal Shakespeare Company, although they did not work in the same productions at the time.
