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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

Filming "Frank and Percy" brought together many actors, including some I've known for decades, and others who are more recent acquaintances. Among them are Derek Jacobi, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Jessica Gunning, Ncuti Gatwa, Peter Davison, Rob Brydon, Sheila Hancock, Felicity Kendal, Hugh Skinner, Gary Wilmot, and Siân Phillips. Learn more at tinyurl.com/bddkhpf9 Composite image by Frederic Aranda

What made filming "Frank & Percy" especially enjoyable was working with a cast of old friends. Learn more at tinyurl.com/5n7628jr?x

Joanna Lumley joins Stephen Fry and Ian McKellen in "Frank and Percy" coming soon to cinemas. Learn more at tinyurl.com/4aam4krr Photo by Frederic Aranada

Stephen Fry joins Joanna Lumley and me in "Frank and Percy" coming soon to cinemas. Learn more at tinyurl.com/4aam4krr Photo by Frederic Aranda

Photo 1: On a recent visit to Rome, I spent an afternoon visiting the Swiss Guard. Here we are at the entrance to Bernini's covered corridor which leads directly to the Scala Regia. Photo 2: I was greeted by a Guard stationed at the Portone di Bronzo (Bronze Doors), a monumental threshold which serves as the primary formal entrance to the Apostolic Palace. Photo 3: Standing side by side with our Middle-Earth inspired tattoos: his is of Glamdring, mine is of the Fellowship (a very different fellowship!) Photo: A moment of reflection in the Vatican Gardens. Photos by Frederic Aranda

Here is the brand-new trailer for "Frank and Percy", starring three-time Olivier Award-winner Roger Allam and me. This heartfelt, life-affirming story features an A-list supporting cast, including BAFTA-nominees Stephen Fry, Rob Brydon, and Ncuti Gatwa, Emmy-winners Derek Jacobi and Jessica Gunning, and BAFTA-winners Joanna Lumley and Siân Phillips. "Frank and Percy" has its World Premiere at this year's BFI #LFF next week on 13 October, before coming to UK cinemas early next year. #frankandpercy #film #LFF #londonfilmfestival #worldpremiere youtu.be/Ls-euX3r_O0?si=dwLT… via @YouTube

My acting career is 65 years old today. It began at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, which then had a year-round company of actors presenting a new production every two weeks. My first, fresh from my graduation from Cambridge University, was a revival of “A Man for All Seasons”, Robert Bolt’s popular re-telling of Thomas More’s fatal political battle with King Henry 8th. My part was the hero’s son-in-law young Will Roper. My début was inglorious. After the excitement of my first scene, I went upstairs to my dressing-room to recover, only to hear the stage manager's urgent message on the backstage tannoy system: “Mr. McKellen you are off”, meaning I had missed my entrance for Roper's second appearance. I made it down to the stage level only to discover that my colleagues had completed the scene, effortlessly covering my absence  with an imrovisation or two, I sat disconsolate in the green room after the show. The leading lady Sheila Keith approached the  dejected, newest member of the troupe: "Don’t worry, dear. A professional actor is off only once in their career. Aren’t you lucky to have got it over with, so early?"