Ian Mckellen Quotes
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I used to think 'King Lear' was an analysis of insanity, but I don't really think it is. When Lear is supposed to be at his most insane, he is actually understanding the world for the first time.
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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.
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You always think that 70 is the end of the road: 'Somebody died when they were 73; good life'. You're closer to death, and you better make sure you don't waste too much of your time doing things you don't want to do. No point in saying things you don't believe in.
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Tony Blair is not a villain, but he's played the part very well.
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The whole atmosphere of the book, the tone of 'The Hobbit,' is of a kid's adventure story, told in the first person by Tolkien, who is introducing young people to the notion of Middle-earth. A lot of it is very light-hearted.
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If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid out for you.
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I have little routines in the theater. Once I've established something, like the order of putting on makeup and a costume, I have to invariably do it in the same order every time, even if I only did it by chance the first time round.
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I'll never put my memoirs in print.
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I've always had very catholic tastes.
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Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth.
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You put anyone in the outfit, and they look like Gandalf. Not that clever.
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I always walk up the escalator on the Tube, and I live in a house with a lot of stairs, and that's good exercise, but you need more than that.
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If you've got Mystique as your girlfriend the fun you could have in bed – I've just imagined X-Men 3 might open with me in bed with Patrick Stewart.
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I'm not someone who wears shades all the time and ducks into a darkened car in case I'm recognized - that would be absolute misery.
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I certainly wouldn't define myself as a northerner. I'm not even really sure what that means. I've lived in London for 50 years. I wasn't born here, but I have spent most of my life here. So I don't make much of it, to be honest. I'm just myself.
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I remember Tom Stoppard saying to me when I came out, 'I feel so sorry for you, because you'll never have children.' These days I would say, 'Well, why not, Tom?'
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Very, very rare that you do a job knowing that the audience is desperate for you to do that job. Most films you make don't get released, is the fact.
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Gandalf is ever-present in my life. I like it.
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When we'd suggested doing it, the Theatre Royal management had said, 'Nobody wants to see Waiting for Godot.' As it happened, every single ticket was booked for every single performance, and this confirmation that our judgment was right was sweet. Audiences came to us from all over the world. It was amazing.
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Every time you work is a challenge. There's a constant worry about it, and it's a side of acting I don't like.
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I headed out to have a breather at the stage door, dressed in my tramp costume. I had my bowler hat between my feet and there were passers-by, and one of them turned back and said, 'Do you need help, brother?' And $1 fell into my hat!
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Actors don't, in fact, retire, do they? It took me a while to remember that.
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Because I was in the business of translating the 'X-Men' from the very successful comics, and taking the most popular book of the 20th century in 'The Lord of the Rings,' and making it into three movies, I hope people realize I wouldn't get involved in anything I didn't think was really going to be worth their while.
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There have been many gay knights in the past - like Sir Noel Coward or Sir John Gielgud.