Kevin Feige Remembers Being in Awe of Patrick Stewart on the First ‘X-Men’ Set
When ‘X-Men’ arrived in 2000, few people could have guessed how much it would reshape superhero cinema. The film grossed nearly $300 million on a budget of around $75 million, and at its center was Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, the wise and calm leader of a team of mutants.
Stewart went on to play Xavier in 7 ‘X-Men’ films. After Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, the character was able to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Stewart appearing in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ in 2022.
Following Stewart’s death at 86 on October 28, Marvel Studios president and CEO Kevin Feige shared a heartfelt tribute in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. He recalled the first time he saw Stewart on the set of the original ‘X-Men’ film.
Feige said he had grown up knowing Stewart as the inimitable Captain Picard, and that seeing him in person left him in awe. According to Feige, Stewart turned out to be everything he had seen on screen and more: brilliant, charming, warm and generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas.
Kevin Feige pays tribute to Patrick Stewart: “I’ll never forget the first time I saw Sir Patrick Stewart on the set of the first X-Men. After years of knowing him as the inimitable Captain Picard, I was in awe — and he turned out to be everything I had seen on screen and more: brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas. Away from the cameras, he was even more remarkable, with a wonderfully sharp sense of humor. It was a true privilege to know him and to work with him. His legacy lives on not only in decades of extraordinary work, but in the many, many people he mentored. He will be deeply missed.”
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 29, 2026
He added that Stewart was even more remarkable away from the cameras, with a wonderfully sharp sense of humor. Feige called it a true privilege to have known and worked with him.
Feige’s tribute focused not only on Stewart’s performances but on his influence on others. He said Stewart’s legacy lives on in decades of extraordinary work and in the many people he mentored throughout his career.
That idea runs through many of the tributes shared this week. Dafne Keen, who starred alongside Stewart in ‘Logan’, recalled how he turned every lesson into something full of wonder and fun, while Hugh Jackman called him a tremendous friend from whom he learned a great deal.
Marvel Studios also paid tribute in a post on X, saying it was deeply saddened by Stewart’s passing. The studio credited him with bringing Charles Xavier to life and described him as a singular talent, a generous collaborator and a true gentleman.
The post sent condolences to Stewart’s wife, Sunny Ozell, his children, friends and fans, alongside a photo of him in character. Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed Stewart in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, also honored him as one of their childhood heroes.
What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor. From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did. Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work. My heart goes out to Sunny and his family. He will be deeply missed.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 29, 2026
Stewart’s last film role arrives later this year. He returns as Professor X in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which opens in theaters on December 18 and marks the first time the X-Men join an ‘Avengers’ film.
His casting was announced in March 2025 alongside fellow ‘X-Men’ veterans Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and James Marsden. Earlier this year, Marvel released a teaser showing Stewart, McKellen and Marsden playing chess at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, a moment that now feels especially poignant.
SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026) 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. We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway. America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire. His farewell performance in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is yet to be seen. Ian McKellen 29 October 2026 Photo: University of Huddersfield
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) October 30, 2026
Feige’s memory captures something special about Stewart’s place in film history. Before Marvel Studios built its universe, Stewart’s Xavier helped prove that superhero films could be taken seriously and led by respected classical actors.
From a young producer watching in awe on the ‘X-Men’ set to the head of Marvel Studios honoring a legend, Feige’s tribute shows how much Stewart shaped the genre. His final performance in ‘Doomsday’ will give fans a chance to see that legacy one last time.
Which Patrick Stewart performance as Professor X stands out most to you?
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