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" 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!' "

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

Ian Mckellen

Friend

Life

You

" Who does understand life? "

" 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. "

" 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

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

" We're very lucky, men, that there are these fabulous parts. Women - once you've done all the parts in Shakespeare, they start running out. So you can pick and choose and find something to energise you. "

" 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. "

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

Ian Mckellen

Modest

Think

" Fame creeps up on you. "

Ian Mckellen

Creeps

You

" I love working in New York. "

" Some relationships get easier as you get older, depending on what sort of person you are. I don't think I've got any better at them. "

" Shakespeare's villains are fabulous because none of them know that they are villains. Well, sometimes they do. "

" 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. "

" Theatre is relatively easy if you're British - you're living in the theatre capital of the world, London - there are so many places you can work, still. If I had begun to think of myself as a film actor, I think I would have got distracted. "

" 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

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

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

" Magneto wants to cope with the difficulties thrust upon him by society and by his own nature. "

" You might be surprised by how interested young people are in older people. "

" I live for the text. It's my job. "

" 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. "

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

" There's no sex in Middle Earth. "

" You won't hear me talk about my politics, you won't hear me talk about my vegetarianism, you won't hear me comment on the Iraq war. You'll only hear me talk about being gay and being an actor. I am just public on those two issues. "

" Bolton School has a great tradition in the liberal arts. "

" People on television have trouble with fame because audiences think they're their mates. "

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

Ian Mckellen

In The Past

Gay

" Even now, there are young actors who want careers as romantic leading men, and the best thing is not to reveal you're gay. "

" There are not many things in my life I can be absolutely proud of or certain I got right, but one of them is that I've got better as an actor. I've learnt how to do it. And I still have enough energy to do it. "