Friends and colleagues of Patrick Stewart are remembering the Star Trek captain as tributes pour in following his death Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 86, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
Hugh Jackman, who first starred with Stewart in the original X-Men movie in 2000 playing Wolverine, recalled the many lessons he learned from the acclaimed actor.
Fellow Star Trek franchise captain William Shatner shared a touching tribute to his longtime friend and co-star writing, “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him.”
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios celebrated Stewart’s portrayal of Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, Logan, and Avengers: Doomsday, saying he was “a singular talent, a generous collaborator, and a true gentleman.”
In his own statement, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige said, “I’ll never forget the first time I saw Sir Patrick Stewart on the set of the first X-Men. After years of knowing him as the inimitable Captain Picard, I was in awe — and he turned out to be everything I had seen on screen and more: brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas. Away from the cameras, he was even more remarkable, with a wonderfully sharp sense of humor. It was a true privilege to know him and to work with him. His legacy lives on not only in decades of extraordinary work, but in the many, many people he mentored. He will be deeply missed.”
George Takei, best known for playing Lt. Hikaru Sulu, in the Star Trek franchise also took to social media saying Stewart, “inspired a while next generation of star-gazers.”
