Further Proof That Celebrities Have a Secret Club: Patrick Stewart Edition

Patrick Stewart, on The Graham Norton Show in 2020

When Sir Patrick Stewart was a guest on the British comedy talk program, The Graham Norton Show, on Jan. 20, 2020, his host observed, “You don’t use the ‘Sir’ much, do you?” The actor was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to drama.

The question led the distinguished actor, who died on Oct. 28, 2026, at age 86, to share a delightful story.

Stewart’s initial response was, “It’s a great honor, but not something I need to press.” Norton then asked, “When you bump into another Sir when you’re out and about, do you call each other ‘Sir’?” The fellow guests—Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Saunders—and studio audience howled with laughter at the thought. “You must roll in ‘Sir’ circles,” added Norton, recognizing his own unintended pun—”Sir-cles”—which elicited even more laughs.

“You have reminded me that I did have a ‘Sir’ encounter, only a few weeks ago in Los Angeles… at an extremely fancy restaurant. Four of us were seated at a table and fifteen minutes later, in walks Sir Paul McCartney. Paul and I have a very slender relationship, but it’s lasted decades. I first encountered him in 1964.”

After Stewart shares the story of how they first met, he returns to explain the more recent meeting in Los Angeles, involving yet another surprise visitor.

Watch the clip with the memorable ending featuring “the [three] knights of the round table”