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" If we just made one movie, 'The Hobbit,' the fact is that all the fans, the eight-, nine- and 10-year-old boys, they would watch it 1,000 times. Now, they've got three films they can watch 1,000 times. "

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" Why do you act? You act for an audience. In the theatre, you're in their presence. Film stars don't know what it is to have an audience. "

Ian Mckellen

Why

You

Theatre

" It's my impression that I've done every job that I've been asked to do. "

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

" 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. "

" I have got prostate cancer, and I have to keep monitoring that. It's no problem, it's under control and I'm very cool about it, but other people are dying from it. "

" I got better as an actor, and still I'm getting better. That's only been possible because there's always been work. "

" 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. "

" Every anti-gay remark from the Church gives the thug a license to be cruel. "

" If I was a star, it would be difficult to go off and do 'Coronation Street.' So I guess I'm not a star. "

" I was brought up in industrial south Lancashire, down the cobbled road from where LS Lowry (1887 - 1976) lived and painted. "

Ian Mckellen

Down

Road

" Try and understand what part you have to play in the world in which you live. There's more to life than you know and it's all happening out there. Discover what part you can play and then go for it. "

" 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. "

" Will I miss Gandalf? Well, I don't miss him, because people are constantly coming up to me mentioning him and talking about him, so I don't feel that I've lost contact. "

Ian Mckellen

Him

Feel

" The one thing you can ask, I think, is that actors get paid a living wage. I would like it if all the repertory theatres that currently exist could do that. It would make a huge difference. "

" There's no sex in Middle Earth. "

" There are some fantastic parts for older actors. "

" The strength of British theatre should be that these actors in their middle years know what they're doing and are good at it. Not rich, not famous, but making a living. "

" 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. "

" Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people asked me what I wanted to be. In fact, I always used to say I wanted to be an actor, but I didn't ever believe that I was good enough to be come one. "

Ian Mckellen

Believe

Chef

" 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. "

" 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.' "

" The huge difference in my lifetime is that you can just go up to somebody and make a pass. You couldn't do that in the 1950s if you were gay. There were secret handshakes, a secret language. There was nowhere you could go to be romantic outside of people's houses. "

Ian Mckellen

You

Language

" I got intrigued by working in small theatres. "

" Capitalism offers you freedom, but far from giving people freedom, it enslaves them. "

" There is a fantasy as old as the modern gay rights movement that if all our skins turned lavender overnight, the majority, confounded by our numbers and our diversity, and recognising a few of our faces, would at once let go of prejudice forevermore. "

" 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. "

" It's nice for me to be in touch with a younger generation. "

Ian Mckellen

Younger

Generation

" 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. "

" That was the big effect Lord of the Rings had on me. It was discovering New Zealand. And even more precious were the people- not at all like the Australians. "

" I love musicals; I love the ballet, opera, the circus. It's all performance to me. "

Ian Mckellen

Performance

Ballet