Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, and more pay tribute to their friend Patrick Stewart

When it was announced, in the early afternoon of Thursday, October 29, that beloved actor Patrick Stewart had died at the age of 80, it took essentially zero time for the internet, as a whole, to go into mourning. Amid the various tributes, clips of his brilliant or silly moments, or simple outpourings of grief, though, there have also been messages from those that knew Stewart not just as an icon or a hero, but as a friend. Chief among them: Long-time X-Men co-star (and fellow theater vet) Ian McKellen, who wrote a long, touching post to his old comrade on Instagram on Thursday evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Ian McKellen (@ianmckellen)

McKellen was not the only X-Men or Star Trek alum to pay tribute to Stewart: Hugh Jackman wrote a post of his own, saying that, “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.” The social media channels for Marvel Studios paid tribute to him, while studio mastermind Kevin Feige gave a statement to Variety praising Stewart—whose final film will apparently end up being this December’s Avengers: Doomsday—as “brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas.”

Stewart’s colleagues from his other most famous role were no less effusive, as the Star Trek cast (fresh off the death of original series star Walter Koenig) posted their own memories of Stewart. William Shatner, Wil Wheaton, George Takei, and more memorialized him on Thursday evening, praising both his talent and his humility. Next Generation co-star Jonathan Frakes wrote that, “There’s no one on this planet that I have acted with or directed more often than my late great friend Patrick Stewart. He will be with me forever. May he rest in Peace,” while LeVar Burton wrote that “He was family. There is no other context in which to hold him that makes sense. I am lucky to have known and loved so many of the facets of a soul so rich in talent and generous of heart. Of all the Dames and Knights I’ve known he was deep down-the silliest.”

Not that appreciation for Stewart was confined to those two franchises, of course; personal tributes to Stewart on Thursday ran the gamut from the Royal Shakespeare Company, which called its long-time alumnus “one of the finest classical Shakespearean actors of his generation,” to Seth MacFarlane, who went from a long-time admirer or Stewart to a frequent collaborator courtesy of shows like Family Guy and American Dad!. “He was also as humble as they come,” MacFarlane wrote in his tribute to Stewart. “I remember exchanging emails with him a number of years ago when he was beginning day 1 of a new film. He commented to me that he always walked onto a new set feeling like the biggest novice there. My stunned reaction was the same as anyone’s would be. I said, ‘Patrick, if you feel that way, the rest of us are screwed.’”