Ian McKellen Quotes & Sayings

My ambition is to get better as an actor. — Ian McKellen

Will I miss Gandalf? Well, I don't miss him, because people are constantly coming up to me mentioning him and talking about him, so I don't feel that I've lost contact. — Ian McKellen

I got better as an actor, and still I'm getting better. That's only been possible because there's always been work. — Ian McKellen

It's a joy to be up close to Derek Jacobi's work. Alas, we haven't worked very much, over the years, since we were at university together, but I don't think I've missed many of his great shows and performances. — Ian McKellen

When I left Cambridge, I applied to regional repertory theaters in the U.K. and got accepted by one of them ... And here I am, still at it. — Ian McKellen

I have been reluctant to lobby on other issues I most care about - nuclear weapons (against), religion (atheist), capital punishment (anti), AIDS (fund-raiser) because I don't want to be forever spouting, diluting the impact of addressing my most urgent concern - legal and social equality for gay people worldwide. — Ian McKellen

It may be my rather puritanical upbringing at odds with my inborn laziness that makes me feel guilty at the end of the day, unless I am able to point at some achievement. But this need be no more impressive than cooking a meal or going for a long walk. — Ian McKellen

I'm a latecomer to popular TV. This is rather new to me, being in a sitcom. It's been an ambition of mine. — Ian McKellen

I was a shy gay man at a time when it was illegal to be gay. — Ian McKellen

If I have any audience, they can know that anything I am in, I would go see, with the expectation of being really satisfied. — Ian McKellen

There's lots of Tolkien that must be confusing to people. — Ian McKellen

I think I'm a bit gruffer than I used to be, and I'm certainly older. — Ian McKellen

There are not many things in my life I can be absolutely proud of or certain I got right, but one of them is that I've got better as an actor. I've learnt how to do it. And I still have enough energy to do it. — Ian McKellen

I had never come across the 'X-Men' comics till I was asked to play Magneto, so I just jumped into that job. — Ian McKellen

I'm only an actor. I'm not a writer. I'm not going to leave any legacy. All I've ever done is learn the lines and say them. — Ian McKellen

Anyone who thinks Peter Jackson would fall for market forces around him rather than artistic integrity doesn't know the guy or the body of his work. — Ian McKellen

Who does understand life? — Ian McKellen

'The Lego Movie?' I've never heard of it. — Ian McKellen

In the U.K. there is still work to be done, particularly in schools, stopping the homophobic bullies in the playground and introducing unbiased discussion on gay issues in the classroom. — Ian McKellen

If I was on a march at the moment I would be saying to everyone: 'Be honest with each other. Admit there are limitless possibilities in relationships, and love as many people as you can in whatever way you want, and get rid of your inhibitions, and we'll all be happy. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

Kids are coming out earlier and earlier - some, as young as twelve now - and schools need to take that into account. — Ian McKellen

Some directors don't tell you that it's not your fault, so you get increasingly depressed that you're not delivering what's required, and then you discover it's not you at all, it's something in the background that's out of focus. — Ian McKellen

I have never wanted to be typecast, one of those actors who plays a variation on a one-note theme. So just as I enjoy playing a wide variety of characters, from good to bad to ugly to cute - so I have enjoyed of late working in film and television, as well as in theatres of various sizes and shapes. — Ian McKellen

The huge difference in my lifetime is that you can just go up to somebody and make a pass. You couldn't do that in the 1950s if you were gay. There were secret handshakes, a secret language. There was nowhere you could go to be romantic outside of people's houses. — Ian McKellen

It's my impression that I've done every job that I've been asked to do. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

I've always had very catholic tastes. — Ian McKellen

One school invited me down, as two pupils had come out, and the headmaster didn't know what to do about it. I said, 'How many students here are gay?' and he said, 'Just these two.' Clearly not. 'How many gay members of staff have you got?' He had no idea. And this was a concerned man. — Ian McKellen

My own death threats have declined considerably. — Ian McKellen

I often thought my gravestone would say, 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out,' — Ian McKellen

There's something wholesome about the theatre. — Ian McKellen

I'm dead against the idea that you should try to "cure" people of being gay. — Ian McKellen

You mustn't upstage the bride. — Ian McKellen

If you've been in a film that's seen by millions and millions and millions of people, you're more likely to be recognized for that than for your theater performances, which were seen by considerably less people. Why would I get upset by that? — Ian McKellen

The performance is created by the director. The actor is the material. And I think that has to be true. — Ian McKellen

One thing Middle-earth is short on is the feminine. — Ian McKellen

'Macbeth' was a very lucky play for me. — Ian McKellen

Theatre is relatively easy if you're British - you're living in the theatre capital of the world, London - there are so many places you can work, still. If I had begun to think of myself as a film actor, I think I would have got distracted. — Ian McKellen

I'll never put my memoirs in print. — Ian McKellen

I headed out to have a breather at the stage door, dressed in my tramp costume. I had my bowler hat between my feet and there were passers-by, and one of them turned back and said, 'Do you need help, brother?' And $1 fell into my hat! — Ian McKellen

Actors don't, in fact, retire, do they? It took me a while to remember that. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

Bill Gallagher's new version of 'The Prisoner' is an enthralling commentary on modern culture. It is witty, intelligent and disturbing. I am very excited to be involved. — Ian McKellen

You would be surprised how many directors don't know what they want. They might not know what they want until they see it, they might know what they want but no idea how to get it out of the actor, then you've both got a problem. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

Doing some of the 'Lord Of The Rings' press junkets got a bit claustrophobic. — Ian McKellen

I love musicals; I love the ballet, opera, the circus. It's all performance to me. — Ian McKellen

Shakespeare's villains are fabulous because none of them know that they are villains. Well, sometimes they do. — Ian McKellen

Why not celebrate those who want to marry and bring up a family? — Ian McKellen

I've always felt that 'X-Men' was about something serious. It wasn't just fantasy. — Ian McKellen

I'm not quite as cool as I would like to be, really. — Ian McKellen

Godot is whatever it is in life that you are waiting for: 'I'm waiting to win the lottery. I'm waiting to fall in love'. For me, as a child, it was Christmas. At least that eventually came. — Ian McKellen

Gandalf saves the world and saves the soul of the world, really. — Ian McKellen

Very, very rare that you do a job knowing that the audience is desperate for you to do that job. Most films you make don't get released, is the fact. — Ian McKellen

It's easier to go from theatre to film than the other way round. In film you're absolutely loved and cossetted and cared for. In film your director makes your performance. In theatre you're carrying it all. — Ian McKellen

All other areas of my life, I'm hopeless. I can't even be certain how to boil an egg. — Ian McKellen

My reaction to 3D is subtly. Things don't come out at you, but rather you - The audience come into the film. — Ian McKellen

What I particularly like about Broadway is the camaraderie and the friendship of other people in other shows. Everybody knows you're opening and cares about you. There's a real village atmosphere. — Ian McKellen

Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth. — Ian McKellen

In the old-fashioned sitcoms, to be gay was, in itself, funny, and you laughed at the characters rather than with them. — Ian McKellen

Some relationships get easier as you get older, depending on what sort of person you are. I don't think I've got any better at them. — Ian McKellen

Ever since the invention of the camera, people have been trying to create 3D, because we see things in 3D, and everyone's aware that the camera doesn't. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

You can always pick out stage actors at the Oscars: they know how to walk. — Ian McKellen

I often get mistaken for Dumbledore. One wizard is very much like another. — Ian McKellen

Because I was in the business of translating the 'X-Men' from the very successful comics, and taking the most popular book of the 20th century in 'The Lord of the Rings,' and making it into three movies, I hope people realize I wouldn't get involved in anything I didn't think was really going to be worth their while. — Ian McKellen

Magneto wants to cope with the difficulties thrust upon him by society and by his own nature. — Ian McKellen

I love working in New York. — Ian McKellen

Gandalf's a good guy, and it's a good part. He says the right things, he believes the right things. An actor can have fun with it. — Ian McKellen

I have lots of fans, they are mostly under the age of 12, boys and girls. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

I don't make any distinction between a popular TV series or blockbuster film and doing Shakespeare. They're different, but as long as the material is good and the intention is honourable, it's all the same to me. — Ian McKellen

When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements. — Ian McKellen

Most of the time when you do a job, a play or a film, you're wondering, "Will there be an audience?" — Ian McKellen

I have little routines in the theater. Once I've established something, like the order of putting on makeup and a costume, I have to invariably do it in the same order every time, even if I only did it by chance the first time round. — Ian McKellen

The spirit of the four hobbits in 'Lord of the Rings,' I suppose I miss that. — Ian McKellen

If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid out for you. — Ian McKellen

Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend ... they can all go drifting by unseen if you're not careful. — Ian McKellen

The thing you notice here after America is how refreshingly ordinary people look because they haven't had their chin wrapped around the back of their ears. — Ian McKellen

That's the imagination that happens in the theater. That imagination is translated in film by the film magicians and all the technology. — Ian McKellen

In the theatre, the actor is in total control. The director wasn't in the house last night, the designer wasn't there, the author's dead. It's just us and the audience. — Ian McKellen

I don't think many people will re-read 'The Da Vinci Code.' — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

There are some fantastic parts for older actors. — Ian McKellen

It was wrongly assumed that I wished to become some sort of leader among gay activists, whereas in reality I was happier to be a foot soldier. — Ian McKellen

I think I've become more modest as the years have gone on. — Ian McKellen

Gandalf the Grey was always the guy I prefer. Gandalf the White was driven to do a particular job, whereas Gandalf the Grey is a bit more humane. — Ian McKellen

The one thing you can ask, I think, is that actors get paid a living wage. I would like it if all the repertory theatres that currently exist could do that. It would make a huge difference. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

I got intrigued by working in small theatres. — Ian McKellen

Every anti-gay remark from the Church gives the thug a license to be cruel. — Ian McKellen

I don't like using the word evil because it sounds as if that's all there is to be said about the person. I don't think Richard III is evil, I don't think it's helpful to say that...Iago he's not evil. Iago didn't get the job, he thinks his wife's been unfaithful to him, he doesn't like black people, he's extremely talented and very unfulfilled and he's a wonderful liar, and he's a mischeif maker and he does some dreadful, dreadful things. But that's already interesting, isn't it? Ooh, who is this guy? But if you just say "ah oh he's evil" how can you play that? I don't know how you play an evil person. — Ian McKellen

I get pretty grumpy about TV. — Ian McKellen

Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people asked me what I wanted to be. In fact, I always used to say I wanted to be an actor, but I didn't ever believe that I was good enough to be come one. — Ian McKellen

I have got prostate cancer, and I have to keep monitoring that. It's no problem, it's under control and I'm very cool about it, but other people are dying from it. — Ian McKellen

I've played an awful lot of people that other people would call villains, but that isn't a very helpful attitude to have if you're about to play them. They are just people, and they may do dreadful things and say dreadful things, but your job as an actor is to know why they do them or say them. — Ian McKellen

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. — Ian McKellen

It's only fair that stable gay relationships of long standing should have the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. I know the image of gay marriage is to some people horrific and ludicrous. — Ian McKellen

I used to comfort myself when I became an actor that it was a useful job, entertaining people. And it was important to do it as well as you possibly can. — Ian McKellen