Patrick Stewart was originally married to his wife Sunny Ozell in a Mexican restaurant.
The Star Trek: Picard actor revealed the fun fact during his recent appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he was interviewed by guest host and former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
Stewart said that he and singer-songwriter Ozell had two wedding ceremonies because his friend and fellow actor Ian McKellen became qualified to perform the nuptial in California. But since McKellen couldn’t do the ceremony outside of the state, Stewart and Ozell set up an intimate ceremony where they were wed by McKellen.
“We learned that [McKellen] could not use his credentials in Nevada, where we were getting married… so we invited Ian and out other two guests and a director to a Mexican restaurant for dinner [in California],” Stewart shared. “And they were really closing down when we got there, it was pretty late. And Ian had brought with him a kind of robe — but our guests had no idea what was happening. And in fact, we were formally married in a Mexican restaurant.”
“A different kind of wizardry,” said Buttigieg said in an apparent nod to McKellen’s role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film series. “I love it.”
Stewart went on to share that McKellen was also present at the “supposedly authentic” wedding in Nevada back in 2013, where he delivered a very touching speech. “[It] was so moving. I looked out and the audience were wiping their [eyes] – men and women,” Steward recalled of McKellen’s speech. “It was so emotional, it was very powerful.”
Though Stewart and McKellen popularly co-starred in the X-Men film series as Professor X and Magneto, respectively, the friendship between the two actually dates back many years before they appeared in the movie adaptation of the comic book franchise.
Ozell, meanwhile, is Stewart’s third wife. The Jean-Luc Picard actor was previously married to television producer Wendy Neuss from 2000 to 2003 and to actress Sheila Falconer from 1966 to1990.
At the end of the interview, Stewart surprised Buttigieg with a very special gift. “I don’t know how much time we have, these things go very fast,” Stewart said as he pulled a manila folder from behind him. “For you.”
Buttigieg opened the folder and much to his surprise found an original Star Trek script. Being the huge Star Trek fan that he is, Buttigieg was obviously very much delighted.
Watch the entire interview in the video below:
