McKellen said during a press tour for King Lear in 2009 that people call him Dumbledore in the street and he has to tell them: "No, no, that's Mike Gambon. He thinks Dumbledore is a pretty poor Gandalf tribute act.
McKellen used it at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games in 1994, introducing himself as: "I'm Sir Ian McKellen but you can call me Serena." He is a big campaigner for gay rights and once caused a sensation in Singapore when he asked his interviewer on a morning show if they could recommend a gay bar. Stephen Fry gave him the nickname 'Serena' after McKellen was knighted. McKellen happily accepted, writing: "F**k off, I'm gay."ĥ. Howard refused to change his mind on the subject and asked for an autograph on his children's behalf. McKellen came out publicly in 1988 on BBC Radio 3 and lobbied the then-Home Secretary Michael Howard about a law he was putting through, forbidding the "promotion of homosexuality in schools". Presumably they have to down Ribena when playing their Lord of the Rings drinking games.Ĥ. He also gave up alcohol at the age of 70 (stable door, horse bolting, anyone?) and has become such a strict tea-totaller that even his guests aren't offered a nightcap. In the late 1980s, McKellen joined the legions of vegetarians who still eat fish and narrowly missed out on becoming the 'World's Sexiest Vegetarian'. During filming he was offered the role of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.ģ. His acting career began on stage but he got his Hollywood break when he was cast as comic book supervillain Magneto in the X-Men trilogy. His mother died when he was 12 and he had lost both his parents by the age of 24.Ģ. At the age of 3 his parents took him to see Peter Pan at Manchester's Opera House and later on his elder sister Jean, who was also into acting, introduced him to Shakespearean theatre. Ian Murray McKellen was born on 25 May, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire into a non-orthodox Christian family. But for those of you who can't wait that long, we've taken the opportunity to find out ten things we never knew about the star.ġ. Sir Ian McKellen will be reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey in upcoming blockbuster The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which hits cinemas next week. He's been twice nominated for an Oscar, has scooped pretty much every major theatrical award going and is up there with the world's finest actors, and yet there are still many people who know him mainly as That Bloke Who Looks A Bit Like A Grumpy Santa Claus in Lord of the Rings.