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
best careers leading men reveal romantic
Even now, there are young actors who want careers as romantic leading men, and the best thing is not to reveal you're gay.
careers california actors
It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality. And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian. It`s very distressing to me that that should be the case. The film industry is very old fashioned in California.
careers acting suits
My acting stopped being about disguise and became about truth which suits the camera, so my film career took off when I came out.
playing
When I was playing Gandalf, I didn't think, 'Oh my dear, I'm playing a 7,000 year old wizard,' because I've never met one, and I don't know what they're like.
deaths public
There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay.
There are some fantastic parts for older actors.
When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements.
admiring flattering including laurence life people rather spent tremendous
There are some tremendous actors in the U.K. who have been knighted, and I've spent much of my life admiring many of them, like Laurence Olivier. So it's very flattering to be in their company. But you also end up in the company of people you don't admire, including some rather dodgy politicians.
hope left life stage
I still hope I've got a lot of life left on stage and making films.
audiences people
People on television have trouble with fame because audiences think they're their mates.
illegal man time
I was a shy gay man at a time when it was illegal to be gay.
came days remember saying sorry tom
I remember Tom Stoppard saying to me when I came out, 'I feel so sorry for you, because you'll never have children.' These days I would say, 'Well, why not, Tom?'
The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them.
work
I got better as an actor, and still I'm getting better. That's only been possible because there's always been work.