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
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,'
expectation
If I have any audience, they can know that anything I am in, I would go see, with the expectation of being really satisfied.
certainly define life lived spent sure
I certainly wouldn't define myself as a northerner. I'm not even really sure what that means. I've lived in London for 50 years. I wasn't born here, but I have spent most of my life here. So I don't make much of it, to be honest. I'm just myself.
awful discovered less rather requiring seeing theater
I came rather late to film. I've done an awful lot of theater before - before I discovered the camera, you know, seeing everything, requiring much less acting and - and much less presentation, much less projecting, more just being.
absolute car case ducks recognized time wears
I'm not someone who wears shades all the time and ducks into a darkened car in case I'm recognized - that would be absolute misery.
constant directors offered parts stream
I'm not being offered a constant stream of wonderful parts with wonderful directors that would keep me away from the theatre. When they turn up, I do them.
children die kids news prejudices react reaction strongly
In the past, kids didn't tell their parents they were gay, so there were never the bust-ups. Some parents react so strongly to the news that their children are gay that the reaction is, 'Get out of our house.' There's a residue of old prejudices that are going to die hard.
bit offer offered people pregnant quite tube
I quite like it when I'm on the Tube and people offer me their seat. Sometimes I take it. The other day I was offered a seat by a pregnant lady. I thought, 'That's going a bit far.'
good roles
I know actors who have had to turn down good roles because they just don't pay enough. It's hard.