Patrick Stewart tenderly recalls how he and Ian McKellen became inseparable best pals
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart kiss on the red carpet and we are so full of emotion right now. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
In a world of imminent doom and existential dread, the beacon of light that is the love shared between actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart gives us hope.
Two interviews dropped Wednesday featuring Stewart describing how he and McKellen became inseparable and it’s the dictionary definition of adorable, to be honest.
With one of the most well-known bromances in Hollywood spanning 20 years, the Picard star told both Wired and Playboy about his “love” for McKellen and no, you’re crying, OK.
Patrick Stewart: ‘We have a hell of a lot of fun.’
“Gay men have played a part in my life as colleagues and friends,” Stewart said to Playboy.
“But none so significantly as Ian.
“I love him and I’m in love with him.
“So is my wife, and it’s mutual. I listen to him, I watch what he does — and I don’t mean just acting – how he lives his life is so admirable, selfless and compassionate.
“We also have a hell of a lot of fun.”
But the gushing didn’t end there for Stewart, who also spoke to the Condé Nast publication, Wired to fangirl about McKellen.
On the publication’s YouTube series, Web’s Most Searched Questions, the actor explained that the pair never bonded until they worked on the 2000 film X-Men, in which Stewart plays Professor Charles Xavier and McKellen plays Erik Lehnsherr.
“We had adjoining trailers,” Stewart began.
“On those kind of movies, you spend more time sitting in your trailer than you do in front of the camera.
Sir Ian McKellen on stage during Pride in London 2019. (Mike Marsland/WireImage for Pride in London)
“So, Ian and I hung out together, drinking tea — and maybe in the afternoon, something a little stronger — and we got to know one another.”
He continued, “And the charm of it was that we found that we had so much in common. And by the way, he married us, my wife and me. He performed the ceremony.”
Stewart also spoke about he and McKellen being knighted, which is a bonding experience for sure.
He joked that he had no clue how he got bestowed the royal title, but “that evening, I did call my wife, and I said to her, ‘Oh, hello. Is Lady Stewart home?’ because my wife has got a title also now.”
