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" No actor wants to play to an empty house. "
Ian Mckellen
House
Play
Wants
Related Quotes:
" The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them. "
Ian Mckellen
Press
Them
Back
" There have been many gay knights in the past - like Sir Noel Coward or Sir John Gielgud. "
Ian Mckellen
Like
In The Past
Gay
" Every anti-gay remark from the Church gives the thug a license to be cruel. "
Ian Mckellen
Church
License
Thug
" I increasingly see organized religion as actually my enemy. They treat me as their enemy. Not all Christians, of course. Not all Jews, not all Muslims. "
Ian Mckellen
See
Treat
Me
" I don't any longer make any quality judgement between theater and cinema. They are different experiences for the audience, and they also are for the actors - although they have a lot in common. "
Ian Mckellen
Judgement
Quality
Audience
" I love the Broadway audiences, who relish live drama and don't hesitate to display their enthusiasm. "
Ian Mckellen
Live
Drama
Enthusiasm
" No one seems to wash in Middle-earth. "
Ian Mckellen
Seems
Wash
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
Think
Time
Understanding
" Doing some of the 'Lord Of The Rings' press junkets got a bit claustrophobic. "
Ian Mckellen
Some
Got
Doing
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
Strength
Theatre
Rich
" I don't normally take to Yorkshiremen. "
Ian Mckellen
Take
Normally
" 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
Leader
Reality
Soldier
" 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! "
Ian Mckellen
Brother
Hat
Feet
" 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!' "
Ian Mckellen
Special
Work
Know
" I love working in New York. "
Ian Mckellen
New York
Love
New
" I can't take on all the worries of the world, you know. I can only talk about being gay and being an actor. I'll have to leave those other battles to somebody else. "
Ian Mckellen
Gay
I Can
Know
" When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements. "
Ian Mckellen
Here
Big
Said
" Magneto wants to cope with the difficulties thrust upon him by society and by his own nature. "
Ian Mckellen
Own
Difficulties
Him
" There are some fantastic parts for older actors. "
Ian Mckellen
Older
Some
Fantastic
" Why not celebrate those who want to marry and bring up a family? "
Ian Mckellen
Up
Celebrate
Bring
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
Waiting
Theatre
Management
" I don't make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare - in fact, unless you're a good comedian, you're never going to be able to play Hamlet properly. "
Ian Mckellen
Play
Never
Acting
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
Control
Cool
Problem
" When I was playing Gandalf, I didn't think, 'Oh my dear, I'm playing a 7,000 year old wizard,' because I've never met one, and I don't know what they're like. "
Ian Mckellen
Year
Never
Old
" You put anyone in the outfit, and they look like Gandalf. Not that clever. "
Ian Mckellen
You
Outfit
Anyone
" Quakers are terrific. "
Ian Mckellen
Quakers
Terrific
" If I was a star, it would be difficult to go off and do 'Coronation Street.' So I guess I'm not a star. "
Ian Mckellen
Difficult
Off
Guess
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
You
Need
Yourself
" 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. "
Ian Mckellen
Real
People
Friendship
" 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
Well
Act