Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at 86 at his Los Angeles home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The English actor, known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men saga, had Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia. His representative told the press this Thursday.
Among his career memories was an encounter with Lionel Messi, prompted by his wife, American singer Sunny Ozell, who admired the Argentine soccer player.
The meeting took place in 2017, during the Best FIFA Football Awards gala organized by the International Football Association Board (FIFA) in London.
Stewart attended the event with Ozell, who hadn’t followed soccer until she saw the then-Barcelona player play. The singer became a fan of the Rosario native and accompanied the actor until his final moments.
How Patrick Stewart Introduced His Wife to Lionel Messi
The actor said he had planned to introduce his wife to the forward.
“I knew he was going to be at that event, and I told my wife: ‘If he’s there, I’ll do everything in my power to put the two of you face to face.’ She told me, ‘And what happens if he becomes my ‘hall pass’?’ I answered: ‘That’s fine by me,'” Stewart revealed in an interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation that went viral.
The statement showed the relaxed tone with which the couple experienced a situation Ozell had been waiting for a long time.
Access to the Argentine star proved more difficult than expected due to the ceremony’s security detail.
Stewart explained: “It was really difficult because there was security as you’ve never seen. Messi was there, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the other great Argentine… Diego Maradona, the Hand of God. I crashed into the security door. ‘Excuse me, excuse me,’ I said. ‘I’m Patrick Stewart,’ I embarrassed myself.”
The actor recalled the scene with humor, even though he had to get past security to keep his promise.
The actor said that, when he got closer, he had trouble locating Messi among the attendees. “I couldn’t see Leo,” he continued.
“He wasn’t there. In fact, he had turned around and leaned over his seat. And he’s rather short, so he vanished behind everyone. I stood behind him, and he sat up, turned, and we were face to face. And you’ll see, his face… this is very moving for me… It simply lit up before me. And I said to him: ‘Mr. Messi, please, my wife…'” he added.
The encounter ended with the photograph Ozell wanted with the Argentine idol. Stewart clarified that he took the photo, but the situation took an unexpected turn when Antonela Roccuzzo also wanted a memory with the actor.
“There they shook hands. And I said to them: ‘Please, can I take a photo of you together?’ So I took their photo; it wasn’t a selfie. I took the photo of my wife with Messi, side by side, and then his wife (Antonela Roccuzzo) said: ‘And I want a photo with you!'”
Ozell later posted the photograph on Instagram and described how special it felt to meet Messi.
“After having worked in fancy New York restaurants for years, I met a lot of important people and became quite immune to nerves. And, to be honest, there aren’t many living human beings in the world I would love to meet. But Messi? Lionel Messi? You can bet your sweet ass I was scared.”
Stewart also shared a selfie with the soccer player on Twitter and wrote: “I met a God tonight!”
Patrick Stewart’s Curious Lionel Messi Story Resurfaces After Actor Dies at 86