Ian McKellen wishes his close friend Patrick Stewart a happy 80th birthday as he films himself reciting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 81 in heartfelt video message
Sir Ian McKellen has recorded a heartfelt birthday message for his good friend Sir Patrick Stewart, as he filmed himself reciting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 81.
The actor, 81, recorded a video of himself reading the poem, originally published in 1609, as he celebrated Patrick’s 80th birthday on Monday from home.
After reciting the sonnet, Ian smiled at the camera and said: ‘And a very happy birthday dear Patrick. Lots of love, Ian’.
Message: Sir Ian McKellen, 81, has recorded a heartfelt birthday message for his good friend Sir Patrick Stewart, 80, as he filmed himself reciting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 81
Patrick shared the message on his Twitter account and wrote: ‘Sunny and my team took over for my birthday, and arranged this gift for today’s reading: Sonnet 81 by @IanMcKellen. Thank you, dear Ian. #ASonnetADay’.
For the last several weeks, Patrick has been uploading videos of himself reading all of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, reading number 80 the day before Ian’s message.
He embarked on the sonnets back in March, giving his legions of social media followers a daily poem during the coronavirus lockdown.
After being praised for uploading his first video, Patrick said on the second day: ‘I was delighted by the response to yesterday’s posting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, and it has led me to undertake what follows…
Pals: After reciting the sonnet, Ian smiled at the camera and said: ‘And a very happy birthday dear Patrick. Lots of love, Ian’ (pictured in July 2018)
Thankful: Patrick shared the message on his Twitter account and wrote: ‘Thank you, dear Ian’
‘When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn’t much) and as she put it in front of me she would say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” How about, “A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away”? So… here we go: Sonnet 1.’
Ian and Patrick are well known for their close bond, having became fast friends when they worked together on the film X-Men in 2000, where they had adjoining trailers.
Patrick spoke about their bond to Wired, saying: ‘On those kind of movies, you spend more time sitting in your trailer than you do in front of the camera.
‘So, Ian and I hung out together, drinking tea – and maybe in the afternoon, something a little stronger – and we got to know one another. And the charm of it was that we found that we had so much in common.’
Friendship: Ian and Patrick are well known for their close bond, having became fast friends when they worked together on the film X-Men in 2000 (pictured in March 2017)
The actors have been close friends ever since, with Ian even officiating Patrick’s wedding ceremony to wife Sunny Ozell in 2013.
It comes after Ian joined his fellow The Lord of the Rings castmembers for a reunion for charity and discussed the legacy of their hit trilogy on Josh Gad’s Reunited Apart webseries in May.
The 50-minute special was the first time fans got to see this much of the talented ensemble back together since 2003.
Ian, who played Gandalf in the franchise, was joined by the likes of Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monahan and director Peter Jackson.
Patrick said: ‘Ian and I hung out together, drinking tea – and maybe in the afternoon, something a little stronger – and we got to know one another’ (pictured in January 2020)