James McAvoy 'counts himself lucky' to have worked with Patrick Stewart

James McAvoy considers himself lucky to have worked with Patrick Stewart.

The Scottish actor, who shared the role of Charles Xavier/Professor X with Stewart in the X-Men franchise, paid tribute to the late acting legend on Instagram on Friday morning.

Alongside throwback photos of them together, McAvoy wrote, "Wherever you're going I know you'll go boldly... I was lucky enough to work with Sir Patrick a number of times and he was always lovely to me. First as a fan and then as a colleague I count myself lucky to have gone with you for a short time (sic)."

Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday following "a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia". He was 86.

He played Professor X in the original 2000s X-Men trilogy, before McAvoy played a younger version in four prequel films, beginning with 2011's X-Men: First Class and concluding with 2019's Dark Phoenix. Both actors shared the role on-screen in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, while Stewart made his Professor X comeback in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, his final film role.

Elsewhere, Riz Ahmed, who created the 2026 comedy series Bait and asked Stewart to voice a severed pig's head dubbed 'Pigtrick' Stewart, also reflected on working with the "humble master" and "legendary artist".

"It was a privilege and honour to have worked & laughed with you, to have watched and learned from you," he wrote on his Instagram Stories. "Thank you for everything you gave us."

Meanwhile, Ricky Gervais shared a montage of outtakes from Stewart's appearance in a 2005 episode of Extras. In the blooper reel, Gervais keeps breaking character and laughing when Stewart is telling his story.

"RIP Patrick Stewart. What an actor. I still can't believe he agreed to do this scene. And he didn't even mind when I ruined every take. Legend," he wrote on X.

In addition, fellow Star Trek alum George Takei called Stewart "a true and irreplaceable legend" and Dame Harriet Walter, who met the star in the theatre 40 years ago, told BBC Newsnight, "I've never heard a bad word against him. And I think the world's going to be very poor without him."