"We lost one of the greats of stage": Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen mourn passing of their 'X-Men' co-star Patrick Stewart

Los Angeles [US], October 30 (ANI): Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman mourned the passing of his longtime ‘X-Men’ co-star and friend Patrick Stewart, who died on Wednesday at the age of 86 following a brief battle with Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia. 

In an emotional Instagram post, Hugh Jackman shared a picture with the late actor and wrote, “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today. And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.”

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Jackman and Stewart famously portrayed the fan-favourite characters of Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier in multiple X-Men films, including 2000’s ‘X-Men’, 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last’, 2009’s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, 2013’s ‘The Wolverine’, and 2017’s ‘Logan’. 

In a previous interaction with Variety, Patrick Stewart opened up about his bond with Hugh Jackman, adding, “Hugh and I were so thrilled when the last thing we did for ‘X-Men’ was ‘Logan’. It was the best ‘X-Men’ experience we both had, because we were the same characters but their world had been blown apart.”

Stewart was also seen in Marvel’s 2022 sequel ‘Multiverse of Madness’ and is now all set to reprise his character one last time in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ alongside his close friend and co-star Ian McKellen. 

One of the most beloved friendships in Hollywood, McKellen and Stewart portrayed the iconic pair of Magneto and Professor X. 

In a moving tribute, McKellen remembered his late friend with much love and warmth. 

“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,” he wrote.

Reflecting on their friendship, he added how they met as young actors.

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“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. 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,” he continued.

McKellen noted ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ as Stewart’s farewell performance.

Patrick Stewart, known for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and as Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, passed away on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced.

“He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all,” Bush Novak wrote. “We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

His final performance – Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday’- will hit theatres on December 17 in India and December 18 in the US. (ANI)

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