Ian McKellen

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    • (Revealing he believes Britain will have a gay PM one day) Ian: I think openly gay politicians are the standard, rather than not, in all parties these days. Eventually it's very likely that one of them will become a leader. We've already had one or two gay Prime Ministers.
    • (On the teachings of Christianity, Judaism and Islam being taught in school) Sir Ian: They should abandon the teaching of their church, because it is cruel and misplaced. It [religion] is the one area where people are not frightened to be openly homophobic.
    • (On how he saw his firsts television and movie roles) Sir Ian: I hadn't really thought about TV and film, and when they began to turn up, I think I probably said to myself, "Oh, it would be good to become a successful film actor, because that would somehow augment my theater career." I didn't think of it as striking out in a new direction, particularly.
    • (On his best memory about filming the trilogy of "The Lord of the Ring") Sir Ian: I think my favorite memory is actually the work. Arriving in this fabulous location at a ridiculous time in the morning, gradually seeing the dawn coming up and being with a group of people who all liked that sort of experience. There was nobody saying "I wish I was in L.A." or "God, get me an English breakfast."
    • (On his work to make Shakespeare more accessible to all the different members of society) Sir Ian: Every time I rehearse a Shakespeare play, I assume that no one in the audience has ever seen it before. I'm very excited by the idea that people may be discovering Shakespeare for the first time; but it's my duty to make sure that what they are excited by is not just another action movie, not just another political intrigue thriller, not just another play about sex and family betrayals and a cruel tyrant with a lot of blood spattered on the screen -- but to point out that these were inventions, not of the cinema, but of Shakespeare.
    • (On giving Stonewall's - the gay lobbying group for which Sir Ian is a founder - list of changes to then Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair) Sir Ian: I reeled off Stonewall's demands, and he nodded, wrote them down and put a tick by them all. Then he said 'we will do all that'.
    • (Taking a stand against California's Proposition 8 which would end the rights of same-sex couple to marry in the state) Sir Ian: I feel involved in the outcome of voting over Proposition 8. The world has turned to a point where any discrimination against gay people in your state, in your country, in our world is unseemly and unnecessarily cruel. If two people wish to declare their love for each other, who are the rest of us to stand in their way? If they wish to marry, as their parents did, who are we to stop them? In the great Californian tradition, Vote 'no' to Proposition Eight, please.
    • (Commenting on his charity work for Stonewall's Education Champion Programme, educating children about homophobia in UK's schools) Sir Ian: I've been to talk at quite a few schools recently. It is essential to talk to 12- and 13-year-olds because they absorb what's thrown at them, whether it be homophobia or tolerance, and we have to make sure it's the positive stuff.
    • (On how impossible it felt to be gay in the 1950s and why the theater was so important to the situation) Ian: It used to feel like it was impossible. Yet, 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. I think that was part of the appeal. Certainly I felt, when I decided to become a professional, that, "Oh good... I'm going to be able to meet some real-life queers." Because I'd heard that the theater was full of them... and so it has proved.
    • (Discussing why acting attracted him more than any other work when he was young) Ian: When I started to do it, I discovered I could do it. I think it's as simple as that. I didn't have any other specialties that I was good at. Growing up and finding an enjoyable activity which the grown-ups admired – or don't object to – for a nice well-behaved boy was fulfilling. It gave me an identity that otherwise I didn't particularly feel I had.
    • (On his first film experiences and how he went about to learn this part of his craft) Sir Ian: I was frightened of the camera... Most people are. You just think of yourself having your photograph taken – it's not a pleasant experience. You're worried about what you look like. You suddenly become unnatural... You want to comb your hair, you want to take your glasses off, you want to say, "Please take another one, I wasn't ready." That's what it feels like when you're not secure in front of a film camera, but a hundred times worse, of course, because you're doing it for a living... You're going to be judged. And the film is moving through the camera the whole time. Before I did the film of "Richard III," I deliberately took time off from theater – I didn't do any theater – I only did film... Anything on screen... Anything. I played some very small parts, and visited other people's movies – as it were – and learned the job.
    • (on becoming a Companion of Honour in the December 2007 New Year's Honours List) Ian McKellen: I am honoured to join an order which includes such distinguished practitioners in the arts. It is particularly pleasing that 'equality' is included in my citation.
    • (on "The Lord of the Rings" and the Oscars) Sir Ian McKellen: If the movies had been made in Hollywood with an American cast, they would have been sweeping the boards every year. So there's a little bit of xenophobia going on there, I expect. But how can you fail to be affected by the achievements of Lord Of The Rings on the big screen? It gets my vote!
    • (on his Internet usage) Ian McKellen: I do use it a lot. When I travel, it's a good way to get news. If I want to read U.K. papers, I can do it immediately, rather than waiting a week for them to reach me. And I e-mail a lot. When I'm travelling, it's a good substitute for the more traditional form of letter writing.
    • (commenting in 2003 on what role is left for him to play) Ian McKellen: I want to play a dame in pantomime, which is the first thing that British kids see in the theatre when they are very, very young. It's full of dance, song and poetry, has a simple story, audience participation and cross dressing. The principle boy is played by a girl and the mother, the comic dame, is always played by a man, which is why the British love the theatre so much, because they get it all, like a Christmas pudding. But mind you, I think pantomime confuses them as well, so next Christmas I'm going to play a dame in Aladdin.
    • (in response to Richard Harris' comments naming him 'passionless') Ian McKellen: Richard Harris was mainly a disappointed man because I had played Gandalf and he had to settle for Dumbletwit. Or Dumblebore, I should say.
    • (looking back at "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) Ian McKellen: It's a wonderful film - I think of it as one film - and the shooting was immensely pleasurable. There was lots to enjoy in New Zealand, apart from the actual filming. I look back on it all with enormous pleasure, and I'm very pleased I was involved.
    • (on how young and old actors relate to one another) Ian McKellen: One of the greatest joys of being an actor is sharing the stage with older and younger colleagues. When I was starting out, I loved watching and talking with my seniors. Now my role is reversed, it's touching that the young actors in King Lear and The Seagull are as keen as ever. As for advice – work with people you admire and go and see their work as much as you can.
    • (on how children see him when they meet him) Ian McKellen: But I know in my heart of hearts that when that little five-year-old looks up at me and asks for my autograph, that basically what they're asking is Gandalf for his autograph but that's fine with me.
    • Ian McKellen: I think ten years more is probably all I've got, as someone who can nip on a plane and remember the lines and not fall over, so I'm very picky now. But I tell you, it's very sweet at six-thirty in the evening when you're not working in the theatre. And not to get up early for a film... every part you play gives you grief. Everything's still a struggle. It's lovely not to have those things on your mind - deep worries, insecurities.
    • Ian McKellen: (on an autobiography and his website) I'll never put my memoirs in print. What's upsetting about an autobiography is that the final chapter is always missing. I mean, you want the death, don't you? There's more on that site then there could ever be in a book. Eventually, before I die, I hope to have written about every part I've played.
    • Ian McKellen: (about "X-Men: The Last Stand") As a gay man, some people think that it ought to be cured and made normal again and I find it as offensive as someone saying that they have a cure for the colour of their skin. This particular story was close to my heart; it has an important message to young people who may for one reason or another be disaffected with society because society points at their differences and says that they're inferior to the rest of us.
    • Ian McKellen: I really can't see why the government couldn't just say gay people can get married - that would have been true equality and so much simpler. But that hasn't been done because they couldn't face the furor. So they've passed a law that is not available to straight people. Straight people cannot have a civil partnership they have to get married. Extraordinary.
    • Ian McKellen: I got very upset when one of the actors said it was the most terrifying job he'd ever had because it involved him kissing another man. Imagine how rude that is. Suppose I'd said the most appalling thing I ever had to do was kiss Helen Mirren!
    • Ian McKellen: (about his character Magneto in the X-Men movies) He hasn't been given a love line, which I think is a pity. It would be wonderful if the camera hovered over Magneto's bed, to discover him making love to Professor X.
    • Ian McKellen: (about his character Magneto in the X-Men movies) I'd like to see him at the gym, because in the comics he has the most amazing body. I'm the slimline version of Magneto, but of course, these days you could morph my body into something really fantastic.
    • Ian McKellen: (about "The Da Vinci Code") When I read the book I believed it entirely. I thought that Leigh Teabing argued his case very convincingly indeed, and clever Dan Brown for twisting my mind in the right direction. And when I put the book down, I thought what a load of... and that's still going on in my mind. I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married. And I know the Catholic church has problems with gay people and so this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay.
    • Ian McKellen: Acting is acting and if that were true, that gay actors cannot convince audiences playing straight characters, Heath Ledger wouldn't be allowed to be in Brokeback Mountain because he's presumably a happily married young man who doesn't have a gay bone in his body. And couldn't you just tell?
    • Ian McKellen: One of my main concerns is for school children who think they are gay and get bullied in the playground. Gay now has a new definition. Young people use it to mean 'rubbish' - how awful is it for a young adolescent boy or girl to think that they are rubbish? Schools and school teachers need to be trained how to help these children. I was one of the speakers in Trafalgar Square at the weekend and I suggested we abandon that word and use another word beginning with G. Gorgeous. I said, 'Look at me. I am gorgeous!'

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