Watch Ian McKellen read a sonnet to Patrick Stewart for his birthday

To mark Stewart's birthday yesterday, McKellen took over the actor's Twitter feed to deliver a special rendition of Sonnet 81. Stewart has been reading new sonnets daily throughout the pandemic to provide some Shakespeare cheer to those missing live shows.

McKellen has been very busy – he's in the process of rehearsing for a new production of Hamlet, where he takes on the principal role.

You can watch the performance below:

Sunny and my team took over for my birthday, and arranged this gift for today's reading: Sonnet 81 by @IanMcKellen. Thank you, dear Ian. #ASonnetADay pic.twitter.com/VKWTEoLkXb