Ian McKellen Remembers Beloved Friend Patrick Stewart: ‘Wore His Heart on His Sleeve’

The actor says his “X-Men” co-star was “a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love” October 29, 2026 @ 5:43 PM Sir Ian McKellen (L) and Sir Patrick Stewart attend the 62nd London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, recognising excellence from across the world of theatre and beyond, at The Old Vic Theatre on November 13, 2016 in London, England. (Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) Ian McKellen, who starred alongside Patrick Stewart on the stage and screen in such projects as “X-Men” and “Waiting for Godot,” took to Instagram on Thursday to remember his late friend. “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,” McKellen wrote. “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.” More to come …