Ian McKellen told Patrick Stewart not to accept Star Trek role

Patrick Stewart has revealed Ian McKellen advised him to turn down the lead role in Star Trek: The Next Generation in favour of theatre work.

The 83-year-old made the revelation about his longtime friend and X-Men colleague in his new memoir, Making It So.

"When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so," the Logan actor wrote, via Variety. "'No!' he said. 'No, you must not do that. You must not. You have too much important theatre work to do. You can't throw that away to do TV. You can't. No!'"

Stewart continued, "There are few people, particularly with regard to acting, whose counsel I trust more than Ian's. But this time I had to tell him that I felt theatre would return to my life whenever I was ready for it, whereas an offer of the lead role in an American TV series might never come again."

The actor explained that McKellen "shook his head sadly" when he informed him he was accepting the role, however, McKellen still "wished me good luck and gave me a big hug".

Stewart portrayed the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation between 1987 and 1994. He has reprised his iconic role several times over the years, including in the recent TV series Star Trek: Picard.

Reflecting on his friendship with McKellen, Stewart added, "In the years since, we have become dear pals and X-Men colleagues, and Ian has acknowledged that he was wrong and I was right. More than once, in fact - primarily because I like making him say those words."

Making It So was released on Tuesday.