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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. "

Ian Mckellen

Done

Work

Classroom

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" Gandalf is in Middle-earth to keep an eye on everybody, and that can be a rather serious matter. "

" 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 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. "

" So it's joyful to me, in my 71st year, to be able to be in a play that is absolutely right for my age and my experience, and that is a popular success. What more could you ask as an actor? "

Ian Mckellen

You

Age

" I came rather late to film. I've done an awful lot of theater before - before I discovered the camera, you know, seeing everything, requiring much less acting and - and much less presentation, much less projecting, more just being. "

" You mustn't upstage the bride. "

Ian Mckellen

Bride

You

" Macbeth is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of Macbeth. It's a short play, it's an exciting play, it's easy to understand, and it attracts great acting. "

" Gandalf's a good guy, and it's a good part. He says the right things, he believes the right things. An actor can have fun with it. "

" 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

" Doing some of the 'Lord Of The Rings' press junkets got a bit claustrophobic. "

" 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. "

" On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact. "

" There have been many gay knights in the past - like Sir Noel Coward or Sir John Gielgud. "

Ian Mckellen

In The Past

Gay

" I tend to discourage people from calling me 'Sir Ian,' because I don't like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you're writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They're impressed by these things. "

" There's something wholesome about the theatre. "

" What I particularly like about Broadway is the camaraderie and the friendship of other people in other shows. Everybody knows you're opening and cares about you. There's a real village atmosphere. "

" 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. "

" I have heard of people dying from prostate cancer, and they are the unlucky ones, the people who didn't know they had got it, and it went on the rampage. "

" There's lots of Tolkien that must be confusing to people. "

" In the '50s and '60s, the life of a gay man was a secret. Homosexuality was illegal, so you didn't draw attention to yourself. "

" You put anyone in the outfit, and they look like Gandalf. Not that clever. "

" 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. "

" When I went to lobby Nelson Mandela while the post-apartheid constitution was being drafted, I asked him to endorse making it illegal to discriminate on grounds of sexuality. I'd been warned that he might giggle if I mentioned homosexuality. "

" There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" Gandalf the Grey was always the guy I prefer. Gandalf the White was driven to do a particular job, whereas Gandalf the Grey is a bit more humane. "

Ian Mckellen

White

Job

" I'd never read 'Lord of the Rings' until I was asked to play Gandalf, so I didn't really know it was a frightfully famous book. "

" I love the Broadway audiences, who relish live drama and don't hesitate to display their enthusiasm. "

" If I have any audience, they can know that anything I am in, I would go see, with the expectation of being really satisfied. "