Ian McKellen pays tribute to Patrick Stewart, his X-Men co-star and friend of half a century

The tribute

Patrick Stewart died on a Wednesday at the age of 86, and his X-Men co-star Ian McKellen has answered with a tribute to his longtime friend. ^[1] For fans of Magneto and Professor X, the loss lands with one last film still ahead. ^[1]

McKellen posted the tribute on Instagram. ^[2] He wrote that Stewart wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and, in McKellen's case, to love. ^[1]

How Stewart's death was announced

Stewart's longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, announced his death. ^[3] He died at his home in Los Angeles, with his wife, Sunny Ozell, by his side. ^[3][2]

He died following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. ^[3] His representative described him as a 3x Golden Globe-nominated actor. ^[2]

Yorkshire first, then America

McKellen said Stewart was defined first by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the county he loved to the end. ^[1] In McKellen's telling, Stewart's accented voice and stern honesty reflected those Yorkshire origins. ^[1]

America was Stewart's adopted home, McKellen said, and it was where he met his wife Sunny, who cared for him through sickness and health. ^[1] McKellen named Stewart's appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire as his proudest achievement. ^[1]

Fifty years of friendship

McKellen and Stewart first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company about half a century earlier, though they were not in the same productions. ^[1] Over the years they shared a public friendship, often appearing at premieres for each other's work, and served as two of British theatre's leading global ambassadors. ^[1]

In 2009 they starred together in a West End production of Waiting for Godot. ^[1] General audiences came to know them best when they starred opposite each other in Marvel's X-Men film series, playing the frenemies Magneto and Professor X. ^[1]

The Star Trek gamble

Stewart took the role of Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation in the late 1980s. ^[1] The part established his presence in Hollywood and made him a household name for general audiences. ^[1]

McKellen recalled that Stewart was offered a leading part in Star Trek and that McKellen urged him to consider the risk to his stage career in the UK. ^[1] Stewart took the risk, which McKellen said benefited his devoted Trekkies and film and theatre audiences. ^[1]

Stewart went on to star in cinema successes, including X-Men, and in classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London's West End and on Broadway. ^[1]

What fans can watch for

If you want to see McKellen and Stewart together one more time, Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday is the film. ^[1] It premieres in theaters on Dec. 18. ^[2] McKellen said Stewart's farewell performance in it is yet to be seen. ^[2]

Tributes from Stewart's co-stars came in after his death was announced, including from Kevin Feige, William Shatner, Seth MacFarlane, Hugh Jackman, Minnie Driver, Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen. ^[3]