Ian Mckellen Net Worth

Ian Mckellen's Quotes

• [on his first theatre experience, "Peter Pan"] I wasn't over-impressed. For one thing it wasn't a real crocodile and I could see the wires.
• I think it's one thing to declare your sexuality, if you care about what that is. It's another thing to start talking in public about what you do in private and who you do it with. It's not that they [my significant others] don't want to be identified as gay, but that they don't want to be identified as ... with me.
• Many unthinking people just don't like the idea of gays joining in their games, nor in the military and, it would seem, in the movies.
• When I, as Gandalf, meet Bilbo or Frodo at home, I bump my head on the rafters. [J.R.R. Tolkien] didn't think to mention it.
• I am encouraged by the theatricality of [J.R.R. Tolkien's] readings - full of rhythm and humor and characterization. Without question Gandalf is like Tolkien but then so, I suspected, are Frodo and Aragorn.

Interesting Facts about Ian Mckellen

1. He was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 1991 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.
2. Has played the vampire in the music video "Heart" by Pet Shop Boys.
3. Originated the role of Antonio Salieri in the Broadway production of "Amadeus".
4. Had a tattoo of the Elvish character for 9 along with seven other members of the fellowship in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
5. Was offered the part of Mission Commander Swanbeck in Mission: Impossible II (2000). He was not able to accept the role, due to a prior theatre engagement in London. The part eventually went to Anthony Hopkins.
6. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.
7. Has played Maggie Smith in a "Weekend Update" skit on an episode of Saturday Night Live (1975) that he hosted.
8. While being a guest on Jay Leno (December 26, 2003), he said that he had not seen X-Men 2 (2003) when it opened in theaters, he only saw it when the DVD hit the stores. He then called up Bryan Singer and asked, "Is there going to be X-Men 3?" Singer replied, "Yes". In his excitement, he got Singer six theater tickets to go see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). As it turned out, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) would not be directed by Singer.
9. According to an interview, one of the last things Margaret Thatcher did as Prime Minister was recommending him for a knighthood.
10. The original Lord of the Rings books, and X-Men comics, both feature a character named Sauron, and a book entitled "The Return of the King". The X-Men graphic novel "The Return of the King" is, appropriately, about the return of Magneto.
11. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1985 (1984 season) for Best Actor in a Revival for "Wild Honey".
12. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1991 (1990 season) for Best Actor in "Richard III" at the Royal National Theatre.
13. Before performing the role of Gandalf, he listened to a recording of J.R.R. Tolkien reading Gandalf lines from the novel. He used this as a base for creating the character, and imitated the accent used by Tolkien in the recording.
14. Began acting as a means of escape from mourning after his mother's death and constant bullying at school from fellow students.
15. He was awarded the 1989 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Othello".
16. He was awarded the 1984 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Coriolanus".
17. He was awarded the 1989 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "Othello".
18. Graduated with a 2:2 in English from Cambridge University.
19. Studied at St. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge, when he was 18, with Sir Derek Jacobi, and with whom he had been "desperately in love", as he confessed on Inside the Actors Studio (1994). In an article in "The Advocate", issue dated December 11, 2001, he further explained that what he had felt for Jacobi in their youth was "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited".
20. Originally aspired to be a journalist.