Ian McKellen Pays Tribute to Close Friend Patrick Stewart: ‘He Wore His Heart on His Sleeve’

Ian McKellen wrote a moving tribute to Patrick Stewart, his close friend of many years, following his death Thursday at age 86 after suffering from Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia. “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to […] Ian McKellen shared a moving tribute to his longtime friend and collaborator Patrick Stewart after his death. Ian McKellen wrote a moving tribute to Patrick Stewart, his close friend of many years, following his death Thursday at age 86 after suffering from Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia.

“Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love,” McKellen wrote on Instagram. “We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century