Ian Mckellen Quotes
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The battle going on over gay marriage in America reveals an awful lot. The Bible belt - people hate gay people. Because the Bible tells them? No, the Bible tells them an awful lot of things that they ignore.
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It is really, really wonderful that in your old age you are protected by specialists who understand your problems and sort them out for you. Well, isn't that what we all need?
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I live for the text. It's my job.
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Doing some of the 'Lord Of The Rings' press junkets got a bit claustrophobic.
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The BAFTAs give the British point of view, and the Oscars give the American point of view, but the truth is we're all working in an international industry.
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I get pretty grumpy about TV.
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In Singapore, Malcolm X type of activity would be extremely difficult because the government can be very harsh on lawbreakers.
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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.
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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.
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I owe a great deal to Harold Hobson, doyen drama critic of the 'U.K. Sunday Times,' who championed me as Shakespeare's Richard II at the 1969 Edinburgh Festival.
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I can't make up my mind whether I want to dance like Josef Brown or dance with Josef Brown.
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I think the point to be understood is that we're all different. I've never been a fan of theories of acting. I didn't go to drama school, so I was never put through a training that was limited by someone saying, 'This is the way you should act.'
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Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I've ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of lies that I hadn't even realized I was carrying.
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I learned that coming out was crucial to self-esteem.
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It's an interesting but useless bit of information that every single character in 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' wears a wig, and many of them wears a prosthetic - false ears, feet, hands. In my case, nose.
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Quakers are terrific.
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If I say often enough that I'm going to be in 'King Kong,' I'm hoping that Peter Jackson will take the hint.
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Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend... they can all go drifting by unseen if you're not careful.
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I have lots of fans, they are mostly under the age of 12, boys and girls.
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You see people in Hollywood trying to make blockbuster after blockbuster, but it's not possible. There's some god up there saying, 'You will fail now.' But I suppose that's true of us all.
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There are people who've enjoyed my work in the theater, and they let me know that it was special for them. I'm not going to say, 'Well, you should have seen me as Gandalf!'
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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.
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When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements.
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I know actors who have had to turn down good roles because they just don't pay enough. It's hard.