Ian Mckellen
Ian Mckellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBEis an English actor. He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BIF Award, two Saturn Awards, four Drama Desk Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards. He has also received two Academy Award nominations, four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award nominations...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth25 May 1939
CityBurnley, England
real acting way
When you were on stage, you could be absolutely open about your emotions and indulge them and express yourself in a way that - in real life - I wasn't doing.
sex earth middle
There's no sex in Middle Earth.
old-friends unseen architecture
Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend... they can all go drifting by unseen if youre not careful.
honesty lying people
Acting is no longer about lying. It's now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Honesty is the best policy.
gay worry battle
I can't take on all the worries of the world, you know. I can only talk about being gay and being an actor. I'll have to leave those other battles to somebody else.
lying important done
Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I've ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of lies that I hadn't even realized I was carrying.
gay ideas people
I'm dead against the idea that you should try to "cure" people of being gay.
taken hard-work gay
I've had enough of being a gay icon! I've had enough of all this hard work, because, since I came out, I keep getting all these parts, and my career's taken off. I want a quiet life. I'm going back into the closet. But I can't get back into the closet, because it's absolutely jam-packed full of other actors.
character personality acting
Acting is a very personal process. It has to do with expressing your own personality, and discovering the character you're playing through your own experience - so we're all different.
writing people trying
I tend to discourage people from calling me 'Sir Ian,' because I don't like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you're writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They're impressed by these things.
people care essentials
To know you are in the company with people who love and care for each other, as well as for whatever they are working on, is almost essential.
should-have fiction disclaimers
I’ve often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction.
play trying world
Try and understand what part you have to play in the world in which you live. There's more to life than you know and it's all happening out there. Discover what part you can play and then go for it.
lying gravestone
I often thought my gravestone would say, 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out,'