‘Green Room’ Director Remembers Patrick Stewart as a ‘F—ing Sweetheart’ and Credits Him for Rescuing the Film: He ‘Swooped Down’ ‘Into Our Cruddy Ass Movie and Saved Us’

“Green Room” writer and director Jeremy Saulnier paid tribute to late actor Patrick Stewart, who starred in the film and whom he credits with saving the day when they were “close to shutting down,” during a 10th-anniversary screening of the 2015 film in Los Angeles on Friday. Stewart died one day earlier, on Thursday, at 86.

“Who’s sad as fuck we lost Patrick Stewart yesterday? Me,” said Saulnier during his introduction to the movie. “I came here to shamelessly promote Slayground, but instead, I’m just gonna celebrate Patrick Stewart. He had no business doing this movie. He had plenty of opportunities otherwise.” His star power revitalized the production when it was “at the point of no return,” and no one had been cast as Darcy Banker, the skinhead leader Stewart ultimately played. “We’re fucked, and we were close to shutting down,” he said.

Then, “Patrick Stewart, out of the blue, sort of expressed interest in the project,” said Saulnier. “And in a whirlwind about a week later, I was on the phone with him. I left the stage, ‘Maybe we’re gonna have to break down the sets and shut the whole movie down.’

He continued: “Instead, this dude came out of nowhere, from way above our sort of zone, and just swooped down, nosedived into our cruddy ass movie and saved us, and said yes. And the movie was instantly greenlit; we moved forward. And I thank him for just taking that leap and making ‘Green Room’ a thing.”

Saulnier remembered the actor as a “fucking sweetheart, true gentleman, a kind leader to our whole cast,” and recounted his idea to add “a little something” to one scene: “I was like, ‘What is it, Patrick?’ He’s like, ‘Well, during this one part of the scene, when the camera’s coming through there, I’d like to say, “Fuck!” And I was like, ‘And?’ ‘Just fuck.’ Permission granted, sir,” Saulnier recounted. “And I just knew that he was completely aligned with the film, its aesthetic, its intentions and with me as a filmmaker, and it was just this lovely, lovely thing.”

Stewart died after a brief battle with Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia, according to a statement on his Instagram account. He was best known for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and as Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, among many other film and TV credits.

Jeremy Saulnier took a break from editing ‘SLAYGROUND’ to introduce a 10th anniversary screening of ‘GREEN ROOM’ at Alamo Drafthouse in LA and pay tribute to Patrick Stewart.

Saulnier revealed that Stewart saved ‘GREEN ROOM’ from being shut down and personally requested to add… pic.twitter.com/GCBgsHo9OU

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 31, 2026