The passing of Sir Patrick Stewart has sparked immense mourning, which fans and friends have expressed on social media. Among the countless declarations of affection and respect for the actor, we have chosen those from people who, for one reason or another, were closer to him as colleagues or crossed paths with him, learning something from him.
The Tributes From Patrick Stewart’s Friends
On Instagram, Kyle MacLachlan shared in a post (not embeddable) a series of photos with Stewart—on set, offstage, and on stage—with the caption: “My friend, we shared memorable moments… from the deserts of Arrakis to the mysterious jungles of Thailand and on the stage in New York. I miss you already… You will always be my Gurney Halleck and I will be your young pup.”
Marvel Studios offers their farewell thus: “All of us at Marvel Studios are deeply saddened by the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart. Sir Patrick brought Professor Charles Xavier to life with extraordinary grace, intelligence and humanity, defining the character for generations of fans, from X‑Men to Logan to Avengers: Doomsday. He was a unique talent, a generous collaborator and a true gentleman. Our thoughts go out to his wife Sunny, to his children, to his friends and to the countless fans around the world whose lives he touched with his art.”
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These were the words of William Shatner, the original captain of the Enterprise: “What a devastating week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague and a magnificent actor. I learned so much from him. Patrick, I’ll miss you forever.”
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And to conclude, the longest statement, that of Sir Ian McKellen, who shares a photo of Stewart wearing the Huddersfield University insignia:
“First and foremost, what defined Patrick was the fact that he was born and raised in Yorkshire, the proud region of northern England he loved until the end. You could hear it in the cadence of his voice and in the grave sincerity with which he spoke his mind and feelings. The people of Yorkshire reject half-truths or avoiding important issues. What he felt showed on his face, which made him a man to rely on, to admire, and, in my case, to love. The first time we met was as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago, though we were not working on the same productions. My strongest memory is from a few years later, when I met him in the streets of central London and he told me he had received an offer to play a leading role in Star Trek. ‘But Patrick, think of your theatre career in England. Do you really want to risk losing yourself to Hollywood for years and years?’ Well, he took the risk, and thank God he did, not only for his devoted Trekkies, but for cinema and theatre audiences, who marveled at his use of international fame to appear in a string of successful films (X‑Men, of course) and in magnificent stage classics by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer and Beckett, at Stratford-upon-Avon, in the West End of London and on Broadway. America was his adopted homeland, where he met his beloved Sunny, who cared for him in health and in sickness, in good times and in bad. But he never forgot his origins, and the achievement for which the most respected and beloved actor of his generation was most proud was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire. We have yet to see his farewell performance in Avengers: Endgame.”
(photo Wikimedia Commons, @ MaximilianBuhn, Berlinale 2017)
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