Hugh Jackman’s emotional goodbye to Patrick Stewart leaves ‘X-Men’ fans mourning Professor X
The actor’s co-stars and Marvel Studios honor the man behind Professor Charles Xavier
H ugh Jackman is remembering Patrick Stewart as both a screen legend and a dear friend. After Stewart’s death at 86, Jackman shared a tribute on Instagram, writing, “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today.” He added that Stewart was “a tremendous friend and man” who taught him a great deal. The two actors shared the screen in several X-Men films, with Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier and Jackman as Wolverine.
Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, his spokesperson said. A statement shared the next day said he had experienced “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was surrounded by family and friends, including his wife, Sunny, according to the statement.
Marvel honors the actor who brought Professor X to life
Marvel Studios also paid tribute to Stewart, whose portrayal of Xavier became one of the defining performances of the X-Men franchise. The studio praised the “grace, intelligence, and humanity” he brought to the character, who led the X-Men and championed peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans.
Marvel president Kevin Feige recalled meeting Stewart on the set of the first X-Men movie. He said the actor was “brilliant, charming, warm, generous,” and remembered his sharp sense of humor away from the cameras. Feige added that Stewart’s legacy would live on through his decades of work and the many people he mentored.
Stewart first played Professor X in 2000’s X-Men and returned across the franchise, including in Logan , where Xavier’s story reached a devastating end. He also appears in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 18. That means audiences will have one more chance to see him in the role that connected generations of Marvel fans to the character.
The tributes also reflect the breadth of Stewart’s career beyond Marvel. He became an icon as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation , while his decades onstage included work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Fellow X-Men star Ian McKellen remembered him as someone who “wore his heart on his sleeve,” while Star Trek actor William Shatner called him “a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor.”
Jackman’s message was personal, but it echoed a feeling shared across the casts and crews who worked with Stewart: admiration for a performer whose authority on screen came with warmth and generosity off it. As Marvel’s tribute put it, he was “a singular talent” and “a true gentleman” , a legacy that will remain in the characters he brought to life and in the people who knew him.
