Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his close friend Sir Patrick Stewart, who has died at the age of 86.
Stewart died on 28 October at his home in Los Angeles.
A statement shared on his Instagram said he died after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia”, with his wife, Sunny Ozell, by his side.
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In a tribute posted on Instagram, McKellen called Stewart “the most respected and beloved actor of his generation”.
He wrote that Stewart “was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire”, a place he “loved to the end”.
He added: “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 met at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1970s, though they never appeared in the same productions.
McKellen recalled a later meeting in London where Stewart mentioned an offer to take a leading role in Star Trek, and said he warned his friend against the risk of getting lost in Hollywood for years.
Stewart took the role anyway, and McKellen said he went on to reach both science-fiction fans and stage audiences.
They grew closer when both joined the X-Men films, with Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier and McKellen as Magneto, and later shared the stage in Waiting for Godot in 2009 and No Man’s Land in 2013.
McKellen noted that Stewart’s “farewell performance in Avengers: Doomsday is yet to be seen”.
The film is due in cinemas in December and will be their final on-screen appearance together.
Other tributes came from across the industry.
William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, called Stewart “a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor”, saying Captain Picard “stood for the best of us”.
Hugh Jackman wrote: “I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.”
Dame Harriet Walter, a friend since the early 1980s, told BBC Newsnight: “I think the world’s going to be very poor without him.”
Marvel Studios described him as “a true gentleman”, and Huddersfield Town said he was “a Terrier in every sense”.
Born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, Stewart was a lifelong Huddersfield Town supporter and served as Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, which McKellen called his proudest achievement.
His stage career took in Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in the West End and on Broadway.
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