Ian McKellen has officially entered the “I don’t give a shit anymore” stage of his career. At 79 years old, the British actor has starred in massive franchise films, small indie films, Oscar-worthy films, and just about everything in between. It’s clear, judging by a new interview, McKellen just doesn’t worry about what he says or who he says it about.
Speaking to Time Out, McKellen was promoting his new documentary “McKellen: Playing the Part.” Over the course of the relatively short interview, the actor complains about ‘The Hobbit’ films, talks being passed over for ‘Harry Potter,’ and how Hollywood doesn’t care about diversity. Yeah, it’s time for Sir Ian McKellen’s hot takes!
When he was asked about his time working on ‘The Hobbit’ films, the actor doesn’t hold back, particularly talking about how he hated all the green screen acting. “I was miserable. It may be my impression but I don’t remember a green screen on ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ If Gandalf was on top of a mountain, I’d be there on the mountain. The technology was being invented while we were making the film. [In ‘The Lord of the Rings’] I wasn’t involved in any of that, I was away acting on a mountain. I tend not to remember the bad times, but I don’t think there were any. I think I enjoyed every single moment of making those films,” he explained.
Moving onto another fantasy franchise, McKellen talked about his flirtation with the ‘Harry Potter’ film series. According to the actor, he was approached about taking over after Richard Harris passed away but was never really deep into discussions. Oh yeah, and he wants to make sure to point out that Harris wasn’t the nicest guy.
The actor said, “When Richard Harris was ill, I was asked if I’d consider being in the movies [as his replacement] and I said ‘Absolutely.’ But I never heard anything else about it. Before Richard Harris died he took time out to tell the world that he thought certain actors were rubbish – and my name was on this rather short list. With Kenneth Branagh’s. I was in good company.”
The real biting commentary from McKellen comes when he’s asked about why there are so few gay characters in blockbusters. “Well, nobody looks to Hollywood for social commentary, do they? They only recently discovered that there were black people in the world. Hollywood has mistreated women in every possible way throughout its history. Gay men don’t exist. ‘Gods and Monsters,’ I think, was the beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay,” said McKellen.
Ian McKellen will next be seen in the animated film “Animal Crackers,” as well as the upcoming thriller “The Good Liar.”
