Sir Patrick Stewart dies at 86, leaving legacy on Toronto film sets

Sir Patrick Stewart, the veteran actor who brought Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier to life for global audiences, died on Oct. 28. He was 86 years old. The death followed a period of living with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, conditions that had impacted his later years.

While Stewart was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1940, his professional path took him to Canada, where he forged deep professional and personal bonds. He began his stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. It was through this work that he first encountered Sir Ian McKellen, though they were not initially cast in the same productions.

McKellen recounted their early history in an Oct. 29 Instagram post, noting they met as ambitious young actors half a century ago. McKellen recalled a specific moment in central London where Stewart told him about an offer to take over a leading role in Star Trek. Although McKellen tried to dissuade him, Stewart accepted the part in the series that premiered in 1987. He remained as the captain of the USS Enterprise until the show ended in 1994 and subsequently starred in four related films.

The two actors' friendship deepened during the production of the first X-Men film in 2000. Principal photography took place in Toronto, utilizing landmarks such as Casa Loma, the Gooderham & Worts Distillery complex on Mill Street, Metro Hall Council Chambers, Roy Thompson Hall, and Rouge National Urban Park. Subsequent films, X2: X-Men United in 2003 and X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, also utilized locations in Toronto and Vancouver.

McKellen credited those Canadian film sets with solidifying their bond. In a 2020 Facebook post, he wrote that he and Stewart became best pals while filming the early X-Men movies. The pair later collaborated on stage in England, performing in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in 2009 and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land in 2013. McKellen also served as the officiant at Stewart's 2013 wedding to his third wife, Sunny Ozell.

Stewart received numerous honors during his career, including a 1996 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for his reading of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2010 for his contributions to British drama. His family indicated that memorial contributions could be directed to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.

Co-stars have expressed their grief publicly. William Shatner described Stewart as a friend and a magnificent actor who brought intelligence and grace to his roles. Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the X-Men films, called him one of the greats of stage and screen. Stewart will appear in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday, which is scheduled for a December theatrical release.