Ian McKellen quotes
Born
25 May 1939, Burnley, Lancashire, England.
Occupation
Actor.
Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.
– Ian McKellen
Capitalism offers you freedom, but far from giving people freedom, it enslaves them.
– Ian McKellen
It’s nice for me to be in touch with a younger generation.
– Ian McKellen
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
I’m not quite as cool as I would like to be, really.
– Ian McKellen
Why not celebrate those who want to marry and bring up a family?
– Ian McKellen
Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I’ve ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of lies that I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.
– Ian McKellen
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
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
Who does understand life?
– Ian McKellen
The conventional wisdom is that if you are gay, you cannot play the romantic straight lead in a movie.
– Ian McKellen
I don’t really like being with people my own age for long periods, because all we talk about is our decrepitude, how the world is changing for the worse even though it isn’t.
– Ian McKellen
The battle going on over gay marriage in America reveals an awful lot. The Bible belt – people hate gay people. Because the Bible tells them? No, the Bible tells them an awful lot of things that they ignore.
– Ian McKellen
I love musicals; I love the ballet, opera, the circus. It’s all performance to me.
– Ian McKellen
I’ve got a waistline to develop.
– Ian McKellen
What’s upsetting about an autobiography is that the final chapter is always missing. I mean, you want the death, don’t you?
– Ian McKellen
Gandalf saves the world and saves the soul of the world, really.
– Ian McKellen
I think New York audiences are some of the brightest in the world, and certainly the most enthusiastic.
– Ian McKellen
My friends are my family.
– Ian McKellen
Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend… they can all go drifting by unseen if you’re not careful.
– Ian McKellen
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.
– Ian McKellen
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
Gandalf is ever-present in my life. I like it.
– Ian McKellen
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.
– Ian McKellen
You always think that 70 is the end of the road: ‘Somebody died when they were 73; good life’. You’re closer to death, and you better make sure you don’t waste too much of your time doing things you don’t want to do. No point in saying things you don’t believe in.
– Ian McKellen
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.
– Ian McKellen
I’m the sort of person who doesn’t write in ink. I only write in pencil, so it can be rubbed out.
– Ian McKellen
People who are truly horrible are often the most interesting people in the room. You look at them and just say, ‘Why?’
– Ian McKellen
The spirit of the four hobbits in ‘Lord of the Rings,’ I suppose I miss that.
– Ian McKellen
I’m only an actor. I’m not a writer. I’m not going to leave any legacy. All I’ve ever done is learn the lines and say them.
– Ian McKellen