Patrick Stewart hailed as ‘a one-man show’ in Ian McKellen’s heartfelt tribute
You’ll want to know which performance Ian McKellen spotlights in his moving tribute to Patrick Stewart—and the onstage spark that, for him, made his late friend unforgettable.
Asked by Entertainment Tonight about Patrick Stewart during press for their next Marvel outing, Ian McKellen didn’t go to the X-Men chessboard. He went to Dickens. McKellen lit up remembering Stewart’s solo staging of A Christmas Carol—a feat he says proved just how completely his friend could command a room.
“He was a one-man show. He played all the characters,”
McKellen recalled Stewart bringing the piece to Broadway, London’s West End, and on tour, performing every role from Scrooge to the Cratchits himself. The memory came with a portrait of the person behind it: Stewart, he said, wasn’t just a virtuoso; he was a decent man intent on leaving things better than he found them.
“He achieved that.”
In the days after Stewart’s death at 86, McKellen also posted a longer tribute, calling him someone he could rely on, admire, and love over decades of friendship onstage and off.
A final screen reunion
Marvel has said Avengers: Doomsday will stand as Stewart’s final on-screen appearance, a sendoff that reunites him with McKellen as Professor X and Magneto. The movie is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom.
The X-Men bench is deep for this one. Alongside McKellen and Stewart, returning alums include:
- James Marsden
- Kelsey Grammer
- Rebecca Romijn
- Alan Cumming
- Channing Tatum — Gambit
The ensemble also pulls in the Avengers, the Fantastic Four , and Wakandan heroes. Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18, 2026 .