Ian McKellen Reflects on Achieving Major Fame Later in Life
Ian McKellen spent decades as one of Britain’s most revered stage actors before Hollywood came knocking, and in hindsight, he wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, the 86-year-old reflected on how his journey to worldwide fame followed a path unlike most.
Long before he became a household name as Magneto in X-Men or Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, Ian McKellen was already a celebrated figure in theatre—but he notes that stage fame differs greatly from cinematic recognition.
“I’d been well-known. I’d performed on Broadway, the West End, toured internationally. But nothing compares to the fame film brings,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
Growing up in Lancashire, McKellen never imagined film as part of his future, reinforced by his family’s skepticism.
“When I thought of being an actor, I thought of being on a stage,” he said. “My parents gave me the impression that cinemas were dangerous places. They called them flea pits because you caught diseases there.”
When a young McKellen sought guidance from an agent about moving into film, the advice was very much of its time.
“He said, ‘Wait until your late 20s, that’s when women find men most attractive,’” McKellen recalled with a laugh, noting the irony since he publicly came out as gay in 1988.
Following the advice, he stayed in theatre through the 1960s and beyond, only landing the role of Magneto at age 60.
He is reprising Magneto in the MCU’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and has hinted at a possible return to Middle-earth as Gandalf. Yet the project he speaks about most fondly is the Steven Soderbergh-directed The Christophers, an intimate drama opening in cinemas on Friday, 10 April.
The distinction, he explained, comes down to the director’s hands-on presence. On a Marvel set at Pinewood, “the directors come and talk to you, but whilst you’re filming, they’re watching from somewhere else.”
Soderbergh, who also serves as his own cinematographer, works differently: “He’s there with you behind the camera. I think that was what made it so enjoyable.”
The Christophers also stars entity[“people”,”Michaela Coel”,”actress”], Jessica Gunning”], and James Corden.
McKellen’s other upcoming projects include Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, releasing 13 November, alongside Avengers: Doomsday, opening 18 December.
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