Ian Mckellen Quotes

I don't really like being with people my own age for long periods, because all we talk about is our decrepitude, how the world is changing for the worse even though it isn't.

Ian Mckellen

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• World
• Long
• Age

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Quotes to Explore

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

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Life
  • Love
  • Friend

• I think I've become more modest as the years have gone on.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Think
  • Years
  • More

• I'm brilliant at cooking my stepmother's scrambled egg recipe. The secret is to put eggs, butter, milk, and seasoning together in the saucepan, and to keep stirring with a wooden spoon under a low heat until the preferred consistency is reached.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Together
  • Cooking
  • Consistency

• I am lucky, I don't have aches and pains. I do Pilates regularly, which is a series of stretching exercises, and I recommend it to anyone of my age because the temptation is not to exercise when you get older. Well, you should.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Exercise
  • Temptation
  • Pains

• If I say often enough that I'm going to be in 'King Kong,' I'm hoping that Peter Jackson will take the hint.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Enough
  • King
  • Say

• When you grumble about a taxi being dirty, people your own age will absolutely agree with you, whereas younger people say, 'You should be so lucky to have a taxi - I walk to work!' So I have lots of young friends, who fortunately don't treat me as a guru, a person that knows all the answers.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • People
  • Work
  • Friends

• In Singapore, Malcolm X type of activity would be extremely difficult because the government can be very harsh on lawbreakers.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Government
  • Difficult

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

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Age
  • Fans
  • Lots

• How do I act so well? What I do is I pretend to be the person I'm portraying in the film or play.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Play
  • Film
  • Act

• 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
  • Good
  • Different
  • Long

• 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.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • People
  • America
  • Hate

• I suspect the base that I'm working from is not particularly one of inquiry, but of memory of what I did last time.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Time
  • Memories
  • Lasts

• 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
  • Work
  • Done
  • Gay

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

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Spirit
  • Lord
  • Rings

• 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.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Truth
  • American
  • Truth Is

• 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
  • Children
  • Kids
  • House

• 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
  • People
  • America
  • Look

• I learned that coming out was crucial to self-esteem.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Learned
  • Coming
  • Self-Esteem

• 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?

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Age
  • Problems
  • Old Age

• 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.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Important
  • Done
  • Lies

• I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying, 'This is fiction.'

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Thought
  • Bible
  • Saying

• 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
  • Reality
  • Gay
  • Leader

• 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.

  

  Ian Mckellen
  • Great
  • Me
  • Drama

• 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
  • Accepted
  • Theaters