Famously known for the wizardry of his performance as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Sir Ian McKellen has been openly gay 35 years and the only two people who will never know, are the parents whom he lost when he was younger.
McKellen is the master of disguise in characters like the supervillain Magneto in X-Men or the all-powerful Gandalf, but when he’s not performing, he no longer disguises his sexuality.
McKellen, whose commanding voice can be heard in characters like Lorek the armoured bear in The Golden Compass and as Hogsworth in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, revealed in 1988, on a BBC radio show, that he is gay.
Now 83, the Gods and Monsters star said he knew he was gay as early as 12 but didn’t come out until he was 49. And not being able to tell his parents, he said, “It’s the greatest regret of my life that I didn’t tell them.”
His mother Marjery died when he was only 12, and his father Denis, when he was 22. He added “Never told them I was gay…Didn’t see me do any of my best work. But I remember them with nothing but pleasure,” McKellen said.
McKellen is legendary for his classic theatre roles–he’s been in many Shakespeare plays on prominent stages across the UK, performances for which he was knighted–and also on Broadway in his Tony-nominated portrayal of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1981).
The English stage and screen actor is also a highly respected actor in Hollywood, celebrated for his versatile talents. McKellen is effortless in his various performances from historical dramas, comedies, thrillers and fantasy films.
Among his most popular roles is the protagonist wizard Gandalf, who was dispatched to Middle Earth to battle the Dark Lord Sauron in J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy.
It’s been almost 10 years since he last appeared as the character in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, but he’s still recognized by fans young and old.
“I like it most that I’ve got a lot of very young fans. Little tots would point and recognize me. Isn’t that lovely? Particularly when you don’t have grandchildren. Mostly as Gandalf [they know me as],” McKellen said.
And though there are sometimes challenges when he’s confused by fans with the other white-haired wizard, Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore from Harry Potter, his biggest challenge in his earlier years was having to hide his sexuality.
Forty years ago, there were no civil liberties for the gay community, and being gay was considered wrong. In some regions today, there are no laws protecting LGBTQ rights and there’s still a sharp divide in accepting homosexuality.
Speaking of his coming out, McKellen explained, “I never stopped talking about it since. Made up for lost time. It changes your life utterly… I discovered myself. And everything was better” And for closeted actors in Hollywood, McKellen said he feels “sorry for them,” adding, “what’s so important about acting that you’d live a lie…How can being successful as an actor be compensation for that?”
Trying to help others, who are tentative about genuinely expressing their sexuality, he said, “I keep giving them advice and saying, ‘Oh come on, join the modern world, it’s not the same. You won’t get put in prison.’”
When he was growing up, that was his truth.
“That was my dilemma when I was a kid, if I’d said I was openly gay I could have risked being prosecuted. That’s not true anymore. We have very good laws in this country.”
In fact, there were laws, specifically 1988’s Section 28, that forbid “promotion of homosexuality” across Britain. McKellen came out as gay to strike down that particular law, which demanded censorship from the LGBT community.
“Came out, great fun of course, taking on the government and winning. I knew I was right. Not many times in life I know I’m right,” McKellen said.
As for relationships, he is very private about his love life. From 1977 to 1988, he was with theater and film director Sean Mathias and when they parted ways, they stayed friends.
The actor has a long, storied life with many monumental moments to share, but when he was offered a generous price to write his autobiography, he turned it down.
“I wanted to start with my parents, why did they decide to have me, just before the Second World War, they must have discussed this and thought about this. It’s too late to ask them and I can’t quite imagine. I got rather teary thinking about them as young people and wishing I’d known more about them. That was another reason why I rather went off the idea.”
Ian McKellen health
Today, Ian McKellen continues to work as an actor and has been involved in several projects in recent years, including movies and theater productions.
However, like anyone else, Ian McKellen may face health challenges from time to time, as he is currently 82 years old. During an interview with the Radio Times a few years ago, Ian McKellen shared how ageing has affected his life, including the fact that he finds it more difficult to learn lines now compared to when he was younger.
“We all have limitations, don’t we, however old we are. But there are times in life when the memory really does get worse and the mind doesn’t work as it should.”
He continued: ‘And if you were to get to the stage where you couldn’t remember anything at all, well, that would be very distressing. Fortunately, I’m not there yet.”
But as it looks today, the legendary actor has no plans to retire from his passion
”I’ll keep going as long as the knees keep going. And the mind and the memory are still there. Any day now they can begin to fade and then I’ll perhaps regret that I didn’t do stuff I could have done while I was fit. So being fit, here I am and if I’m not acting, what the hell I going to do sit at home,’”McKellan told The Associated Press during a recent interview.
It’s fair to say that it doesn’t matter what Sir Ian McKellen identifies as, to the world, he’s one of the greatest actors who’s influenced Hollywood and the world with his advocacy.
Tell us what you think about the Lord of the Rings star and how he feels so much regret about missing so much with his parents.
