Ian McKellen told Patrick Stewart not to take his iconic 'Star Trek' role and stay in theater: 'You can't throw that away to do TV'
- Patrick Stewart said that friend Ian McKellen told him not to join "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
- Stewart wrote about his long friendship with McKellen in his new memoir, "Making It So."
While Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are best known for their incredible dynamic as Professor X and Magneto in the "X-Men" movies, the pair have actually been friends since the 1970s when they worked in the Royal Shakespeare Company together.
And in Stewart's new memoir, "Making It So," the actor discusses how their friendship has blossomed over the years, with McKellen even officiating his wedding in 2013.
The "Star Trek" actor also recalls the time the two disagreed over Stewart's decision to leave the stage for television.
Stewart, 83, writes in his memoir that he spoke to the "Lord of the Rings" star in 1987 when he was about to accept the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
According to Stewart, McKellen tried to persuade Stewart not to sign on for the series.
"When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so," writes Stewart. "'No!' he said. 'No, you must not do that. You must not. You have too much important theater work to do. You can't throw that away to do TV. You can't. No!'"
Stewart goes on to say that he trusts McKellen more than most people in his life, but that he felt the "Star Trek" role was the right choice.
"There are few people, particularly with regard to acting, whose counsel I trust more than Ian's," writes Stewart. "But this time I had to tell him that I felt theater would return to my life whenever I was ready for it, whereas an offer of the lead role in an American TV series might never come again."
"Ian shook his head sadly, as if I were enlisting in the army, but, nevertheless, wished me good luck and gave me a big hug," he adds.
The star writes that McKellen has since admitted that he was wrong to discourage Stewart from "Star Trek."
"In the years since, we have become dear pals and 'X-Men' colleagues, and Ian has acknowledged that he was wrong and I was right," he writes. "More than once, in fact – primarily because I like making him say those words."