From the archives: Patrick Stewart conquers Grouse Grind while filming X-2 in Vancouver

Patrick Stewart, prolific stage and screen actor beloved for his performances in Star Trek and X-Men, has died.

He died Wednesday in Los Angeles following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, according to a representative. He was 86.

In 2002, Stewart spent time in B.C. while filming X-2, the second instalment of the X-Men movie franchise. During his time here, he chatted with former Postmedia News entertainment reporter Glen Schaefer about how he liked to spend his down time.

Read that story below.

Read more: Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek and X-Men star with Vancouver ties, dies at 86 

Originally published Oct. 22, 2002 and written by Glen Schaefer.

Ask Patrick Stewart the difference between filming in Vancouver and filming in Toronto and he’ll tell you — Vancouver’s a grind.

“I have to improve my time on the Grouse Grind,” says the 62-year-old actor during a break on the set of X-2. “The moment I stop shooting, that’s where I go.”

Stewart is reprising his role as Charles Xavier (Professor X) for a sequel to the superhero adventure. The first X-Men filmed in Toronto and Stewart says he had no complaints when the producers picked Vancouver as the locale for the sequel. Since filming started in June, Stewart has been enjoying his anonymous breaks in the North Shore trails.

“People are not looking to see movie actors on the trail and everybody is so focused on putting one foot in front of the other,” he says. Plus, his distinctive shaved head is covered by a hat. “There was group of guys who recognized me one day, they were guys I guess in their late 20s, early 30s.”

Nothing like being recognized to put a spring in an actor’s step. “We started at the same time but I was up there before them. I was sitting taking a rest when they arrived. It was a certain incentive to keep going, it’s true.”

The X-Men cast have become a tight bunch, a focal point being regular dinners at Sir Ian McKellen’s Vancouver digs. Stewart says he’s known of McKellen for years — they were in Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company together — but the pair didn’t become friends until working on the X-Men movies.

“I always regretted not knowing him better because I admired his work so much,” Stewart says.

A secret from the first X-Men movie: While filming the final scene, a chess match between rivals Magneto (McKellen) and Professor X, director Bryan Singer was disgusted to find out that neither actor could actually play chess.

“He was really pissed off about it,” says Stewart. The actors were sent back to their trailers while the filmmakers figured things out. “When we came back an hour later — only in the movies could you do this — there on the set, waiting for us, was an international grandmaster. They’d found one in the last hour in Toronto. ”

Any hints on the new movie?

“There is this character, this ex-pupil of Xavier’s, the pupil that Xavier probably considers he failed with,” says Stewart. “He now comes back into his life in a tremendously destructive and powerful way. It’s a mutant that only has a number, called Mutant 143. I think it’s a terrific sequence in the film.”