Ian McKellen Writes Moving Tribute to Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart, who could claim both the captain's chair of the Enterprise and a commanding place on the Shakespearean stage, died Thursday at age 86, one of the most moving tributes came from his longtime friend Ian McKellen. In a post on Instagram, McKellen, who officiated Stewart's 2013 wedding and co-starred with him in multiple X-Men movies and plays including Waiting for Godot, called him "the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic."

• "America was his adopted home," but Stewart stayed true to his Yorkshire roots, McKellen wrote. "Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues," he wrote. "He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love."

• "We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren't in the same productions," McKellen wrote, recounting how Stewart told him about an offer of a Star Trek role during a chance encounter in London years later. He said he told Stewart to think of his stage career in the UK and warned of the risk of "getting lost" in Hollywood. "Well, he took the risk, and thank goodness for us all that he did," McKellen wrote.
• Variety reports that their friendship blossomed during filming of 2000's X-Men when, as Stewart recalled in a 2020 interview, they had adjoining trailers and "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."

• Tributes also poured in from William Shatner, George Takei, Hugh Jackman, Ricky Gervais, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Marvel Studios, his beloved Huddersfield Town Football Club, and the Alzheimer's Society, among many others, the BBC reports.
• Stewart "was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor," Shatner wrote on X. "From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did. Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work."
• In the UK, the Alzheimer's Society said it was "deeply saddened" by the news that Stewart had died "following a brief journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia." Michelle Dyson, the group's CEO, praised Stewart as "an extraordinarily talented and much-loved actor, admired by millions around the world." She added: "His death is a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating impact dementia has on people and families across the globe."