Oct. 30, 2026, 12:19 AM EDT

To many, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen represent a formidable mutant rivalry in the “X-Men” films or two of theater’s pre-eminent Shakespearean actors, but behind the curtain the pair shared something even more enduring: a friendship that spanned decades.

Stewart died Wednesday at age 86 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. McKellen, Stewart’s artistic brother-in-arms, remembered him Thursday as “the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic.”

“He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love,” McKellen said in a statement on social media .

The pair — about a year apart in age — met at England’s esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company, with Stewart joining in 1966 and McKellen in 1974.

McKellen and Stewart at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in 2009. Tim P.…