McKellen got to know Stewart during his years on stage. In a tribute on
“You could hear it in his dialect and in the stern honesty with which he said what he thought and felt,” McKellen writes.
“He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to trust, to admire, and in my case, to love.”
"Forever"
Jonathan Frakes, who shared the command bridge with Patrick Stewart in countless episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” expresses his sadness in an email to the Los Angeles Times:
"There is no one on this planet that I have acted with or directed more often than my late good friend Patrick Stewart. He will be with me forever. Rest in peace."
Hugh Jackman, who starred opposite Stewart in several X-Men films, is also mourning his late colleague.
"We lost one of the greatest on stage and screen today. And in my book, an extraordinary friend and husband. I learned so much from him," Jackman wrote in a post on Instagram.
Praised by his predecessor
Minnie Driver, who starred opposite Patrick Stewart in the 2017 romantic film “The Wilde Wedding,” wrote on Instagram:
"Dear Patrick. As always, had the best advice, the funniest story, the patience to listen."
The original "Star Trek" captain William Shatner, 95, pays tribute to his successor in a post on Facebook.
"Captain Picard represented the best in us humans, and so did the man who played him. I felt great affection and admiration for him and his calling," he writes.
