Sir Ian McKellen<\/a> never imagined becoming a movie star.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Sir Ian McKellen didn’t plan to become a film star<\/p>\n
The 86-year-old actor has enjoyed huge success on stage and screen, but McKellen never imagined appearing in big-budget Hollywood movies.<\/p>\n
He told The Los Angeles Times newspaper: “When I thought of being an actor, I thought of being on a stage.”<\/p>\n
McKellen’s parents actually discouraged him from visiting cinemas during his younger years.<\/p>\n
He quipped: “My parents gave me the impression that cinemas were dangerous places. They called them flea pits because you caught diseases there.”<\/p>\n
\nThe veteran actor has won numerous accolades during his career, including a Tony Award and six Laurence Olivier Awards. But McKellen admits to being shocked by the impact of the X-Men franchise and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.<\/p>\n
\nHe shared: “I\u2019d been well-known. I\u2019d been on Broadway, the West End, toured the world. But nothing is like the fame that film brings.”<\/p>\n
\nMeanwhile, Joe Stephenson, who directed the documentary McKellen: Playing The Part, previously described the actor as “quite a shy person”.<\/p>\n
\nThe filmmaker explained there’s a marked distinction between the actor’s outgoing on-stage persona and his more reserved real-life self.<\/p>\n
\nSpeaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Joe explained: “He’s a very gentle and quite a shy person, really. Which is quite a strange thing – a juxtaposition, really, with how outspoken he is about things and how brave he is and how much of a strong performer he is. He is actually quite a shy individual. <\/p>\n
\n“The thing that surprises me about him is that he’s not as certain about himself as I thought he was. I had an idea of just age being a thing, like when you get to a certain age you must be certain about yourself, and you must really know everything. He doesn’t – then I just think maybe nobody really does.”<\/p>\n
\nJoe claimed McKellen approaches many of his public appearances like a stage performance, meaning he doesn’t allow other people to get too close to him.<\/p>\n
\nHe said: “I think if it was somebody he didn’t know asking the questions that barrier would be up, and I don’t think it would be really possible to penetrate.”<\/p>\n
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