Despite acting as mortal enemies on the big screen, it looks like Hugh Jackman and Sir Ian McKellen couldn’t be better friends. The two X-Men stars, who appeared together in a total of five films across the long-running franchise, have obviously remained close since their time on camera together came to an end five years ago.
Case in point: McKellen turned 80 years old on Friday, so the multi-talented Jackman decided to give the performer the biggest round of “Happy Birthday” he’d ever heard. Posting a video on his Twitter account yesterday afternoon, the Wolverine actor shows up on the stage of his currently-running one man show, The Man. The Music. The Show. After apologizing for not being able to make it back in time for McKellen’s party, Jackman turns around, starts the music, and leads the entire crowd to sing “Happy Birthday” at once.
Happy 80th Sir @IanMcKellen … and many more! #TheManTheMusicTheShow #XMen #Original pic.twitter.com/glbHUhFNDZ
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) May 24, 2019
It’d be quite a present being serenaded by the man whose singing voice earned him the starring roles in both The Greatest Showman and Les Miserables. But given the two actors’ history with one another, it’s hardly a surprise.
Jackman and McKellen starred in the original X-Men movie back in 2000. The latter played the film’s vicious villain Magneto, and featured alongside Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Kelsey Grammer, Famke Janssen, Ann Paquin, and James Marsden. Both then went on to appear in the rest of the initial X-Men trilogy, as well as 2013’s The Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014.
Though the 2014 film ended up being McKellen’s last performance in the franchise, Jackman of course made one final stand in 2017’s Logan, which is now among the most celebrated additions of the series.
While both actors may not be a part of the X-Men anymore, you can continue to celebrate the heroes once Dark Phoenix hits theaters on June 7th.
