Much of the Hollywood community and the public at large have been mourning Patrick Stewart following his death at 86 due to Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Stewart is set to appear in one more film, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, in which he reprises his role as Professor Charles Xavier. The prospect of seeing the late British actor play the X-Men’s leader one more time is bittersweet. Earlier this year, co-star Anthony Mackie also opened up about working with Stewart and, now, those comments hit hard.
Like so many people, I grew up watching Stewart’s work in one form or another and, as a superhero fan, the X-Men movies were particularly formative for me. So it’s been heartwarming to see the sheer amount of tributes pouring in for Stewart. What I happened to find amid that was a snippet from an interview Mackie gave at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer. While speaking to USA Today (as seen on Instagram), he was asked about his favorite part of filming Doomsday, and Stewart and a few other legends came up:
I was really excited about [working with] Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer. To be able to work with the three of them – those are three actors I’ve admired, legendary actors that I’ve always wanted to work with, to be in a film with them, to me, is not only life-affirming but it’s career reassuring.
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Oh, to have been a fly on the walls of one of the massive sets the actors filmed on. I can’t even imagine getting to rub shoulders with the likes of Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen or Kelsey Grammer in any context let alone while they’re playing their beloved Marvel characters. Anthony Mackie’s comments are also completely understandable, given the magnitude of Stewart’s body of work. Sure, he headlined big movies and shows, but Stewart was also a classically trained stage actor who worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. So, yeah, sharing the screen with an icon like him would certainly boost an actor’s confidence.
Patrick Stewart’s contributions to Star Trek, Marvel, Shakespearean drama and more cannot be understated and, in the wake of his passing, his skills as a performer are being praised. In hindsight, one of the A Christmas Carol star’s final interviews is quite bittersweet as well. Back in July, Stewart was asked about his career and how long he wanted to continue to act. He said, at the time, that he couldn’t imagine ever officially “retiring,” especially considering that he was still being offered interesting roles.
Professor X proved to be an intriguing and complex role for Stewart for over 25 years, and I’m glad he decided to reprise the character for Doomsday. It’s a somewhat poetic bookend to his career, and it’s even sweeter, given the other actors in the movie. Several other X-Men veterans are also in Avengers alongside Stewart including the aforementioned McKellen (a longtime friend of Stewart’s) and Grammer as well as James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn.
I’m envious of the fact that Anthony Mackie had a chance to share space with Stewart while making their upcoming Marvel movie. With Stewart no longer with us, I can imagine the experience now holding an even deeper place in Mackie’s heart as well. I’m going to have to prepare myself to see the late actor’s posthumous performance as the telepathic Xavier, but I’m also hopeful the film will serve as a fitting send-off for his character.
Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18 as part of the 2026 movie schedule. In the meantime, fans can check out Patrick Stewart’s work as Prof. X by streaming the X-Men movies with an Disney+ subscription.
