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" 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. "

Ian Mckellen

You

Choose

Done

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" I'll never put my memoirs in print. "

Ian Mckellen

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" How do I act so well? What I do is I pretend to be the person I'm portraying in the film or play. "

" I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying, 'This is fiction.' "

" Godot is whatever it is in life that you are waiting for: 'I'm waiting to win the lottery. I'm waiting to fall in love'. For me, as a child, it was Christmas. At least that eventually came. "

" 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. "

" Bill Gallagher's new version of 'The Prisoner' is an enthralling commentary on modern culture. It is witty, intelligent and disturbing. I am very excited to be involved. "

" What's nice for me, having identified myself for years as being rather shy, is now, wherever I am, in public, there tends to be a friendly face who's pleased to see me, and I like that. "

" Most actors are not rich - they are very poor indeed. What keeps them going is that they just love the job. "

" Fame creeps up on you. "

Ian Mckellen

Creeps

You

" 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. "

" There are some tremendous actors in the U.K. who have been knighted, and I've spent much of my life admiring many of them, like Laurence Olivier. So it's very flattering to be in their company. "

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

" My ambition is to get better as an actor. "

" I owe a great deal to Harold Hobson, doyen drama critic of the 'U.K. Sunday Times,' who championed me as Shakespeare's Richard II at the 1969 Edinburgh Festival. "

" To be allowed for the first time in your later career to play leading parts in extremely popular movies is not a situation to worry about. "

" In the past, kids didn't tell their parents they were gay, so there were never the bust-ups. Some parents react so strongly to the news that their children are gay that the reaction is, 'Get out of our house.' There's a residue of old prejudices that are going to die hard. "

" 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

" I like sleeping a lot. "

Ian Mckellen

Lot

Sleeping

" 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. "

" 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.' "

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

" I was a shy gay man at a time when it was illegal to be gay. "

" 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. "

" 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 used to comfort myself when I became an actor that it was a useful job, entertaining people. And it was important to do it as well as you possibly can. "

" The wonderful thing about modern medicine is that so many of these complaints that used to signify old age and decline can be coped with. "

" The first film role I deliberately chose to play after I came out was a raging heterosexual, John Profumo. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "