Happy Birthday Sir Ian McKellen!

I can't take on all the worries of the world, you know. I can only talk about being gay and being an actor. I'll have to leave those other battles to somebody else.

I have lots of fans, they are mostly under the age of 12, boys and girls.

Macbeth is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of Macbeth. It's a short play, it's an exciting play, it's easy to understand, and it attracts great acting.

Godot is whatever it is in life that you are waiting for: 'I'm waiting to win the lottery. I'm waiting to fall in love'. For me, as a child, it was Christmas. At least that eventually came.

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.

In Singapore, Malcolm X type of activity would be extremely difficult because the government can be very harsh on lawbreakers.

I was brought up in industrial south Lancashire, down the cobbled road from where LS Lowry (1887 - 1976) lived and painted.

I tend to discourage people from calling me 'Sir Ian,' because I don't like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you're writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They're impressed by these things.

Where I headed out to have a breather at the stage door, dressed in my tramp costume. I had my bowler hat between my feet and there were passers-by, and one of them turned back and said, 'Do you need help, brother?' And $1 fell into my hat!

I love musicals; I love the ballet, opera, the circus. It's all performance to me.

I headed out to have a breather at the stage door, dressed in my tramp costume. I had my bowler hat between my feet and there were passers-by, and one of them turned back and said, 'Do you need help, brother?' And $1 fell into my hat! 

View the list When you grumble about a taxi being dirty, people your own age will absolutely agree with you, whereas younger people say, 'You should be so lucky to have a taxi - I walk to work!' So I have lots of young friends, who fortunately don't treat me as a guru, a person that knows all the answers.

When we'd suggested doing it, the Theatre Royal management had said, 'Nobody wants to see Waiting for Godot.' As it happened, every single ticket was booked for every single performance, and this confirmation that our judgment was right was sweet. Audiences came to us from all over the world. It was amazing.

I love the Broadway audiences, who relish live drama and don't hesitate to display their enthusiasm.

There are not many things in my life I can be absolutely proud of or certain I got right, but one of them is that I've got better as an actor. I've learnt how to do it. And I still have enough energy to do it.

I tend to discourage people from calling me 'Sir Ian,' because I don't like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you're writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They're impressed by these things.

So it's joyful to me, in my 71st year, to be able to be in a play that is absolutely right for my age and my experience, and that is a popular success. What more could you ask as an actor? 

I get pretty grumpy about TV.

There are some tremendous actors in the U.K. who have been knighted, and I've spent much of my life admiring many of them, like Laurence Olivier. So it's very flattering to be in their company. But you also end up in the company of people you don't admire, including some rather dodgy politicians. 

Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.

'Macbeth' was a very lucky play for me.

My friends are my family.

The most likely explanation is the most practical. 'Macbeth' is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of 'Macbeth'. It's a short play, it's an exciting play, it's easy to understand, and it attracts great acting.

Every anti-gay remark from the Church gives the thug a license to be cruel.

I have little routines in the theater. Once I've established something, like the order of putting on makeup and a costume, I have to invariably do it in the same order every time, even if I only did it by chance the first time round.

I quite like it when I'm on the Tube and people offer me their seat. Sometimes I take it. The other day I was offered a seat by a pregnant lady. I thought, 'That's going a bit far.'

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. 

If you get criticized, good - I don't think people get criticized enough. People talk behind your back and they criticize you, but they don't often come up and say it to you.

My ambition is to get better as an actor. 

Anyone who thinks Peter Jackson would fall for market forces around him rather than artistic integrity doesn't know the guy or the body of his work.

We're very lucky, men, that there are these fabulous parts. Women - once you've done all the parts in Shakespeare, they start running out. So you can pick and choose and find something to energise you.

That was the big effect Lord of the Rings had on me. It was discovering New Zealand. And even more precious were the people- not at all like the Australians.

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.

Acting is a very personal process. It has to do with expressing your own personality, and discovering the character you're playing through your own experience - so we're all different.

Theatre is relatively easy if you're British - you're living in the theatre capital of the world, London - there are so many places you can work, still. If I had begun to think of myself as a film actor, I think I would have got distracted. 

If I say often enough that I'm going to be in 'King Kong,' I'm hoping that Peter Jackson will take the hint.

I'm fortunate to be famous for two rather imposing characters like Magneto and Gandalf. 

In the U.K. there is still work to be done, particularly in schools, stopping the homophobic bullies in the playground and introducing unbiased discussion on gay issues in the classroom.

I'm not quite as cool as I would like to be, really. 

Establishing the rights for gay people to be married would cost the Australian government nothing financially and would gain for you worldwide respect from people like us and, of course, would change lives enormously - the lives of gay people and of their friends and of their families and therefore of Australia as a whole.

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.

If I was on a march at the moment I would be saying to everyone: 'Be honest with each other. Admit there are limitless possibilities in relationships, and love as many people as you can in whatever way you want, and get rid of your inhibitions, and we'll all be happy.

I think New York audiences are some of the brightest in the world, and certainly the most enthusiastic.

Why do you act? You act for an audience. In the theatre, you're in their presence. Film stars don't know what it is to have an audience.

The spirit of the four hobbits in 'Lord of the Rings,' I suppose I miss that. 

If you've got Mystique as your girlfriend the fun you could have in bed - I've just imagined X-Men 3 might open with me in bed with Patrick Stewart.

You put anyone in the outfit, and they look like Gandalf. Not that clever.

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.

If I have any audience, they can know that anything I am in, I would go see, with the expectation of being really satisfied.

It was wrongly assumed that I wished to become some sort of leader among gay activists, whereas in reality I was happier to be a foot soldier.

I love working in New York.

It's an interesting but useless bit of information that every single character in 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' wears a wig, and many of them wears a prosthetic - false ears, feet, hands. In my case, nose.

 The strength of British theatre should be that these actors in their middle years know what they're doing and are good at it. Not rich, not famous, but making a living. 

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.

I got better as an actor, and still I'm getting better. That's only been possible because there's always been work.

You mustn't upstage the bride. Ian Mckellen You Bride I'm brilliant at cooking my stepmother's scrambled egg recipe. The secret is to put eggs, butter, milk, and seasoning together in the saucepan, and to keep stirring with a wooden spoon under a low heat until the preferred consistency is reached.

I've always had very catholic tastes.

The thing you notice here after America is how refreshingly ordinary people look because they haven't had their chin wrapped around the back of their ears.

'Lord of the Rings' was about saving the world, big time, big duties.

Thanks to every gay person in public and non-public life who has come out.

Before I ever acted as an amateur - which I did a great deal at school and at university - I used to go to the theater with my parents in the north of England, where I was born and brought up... Theater of all sorts.

Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people asked me what I wanted to be. In fact, I always used to say I wanted to be an actor, but I didn't ever believe that I was good enough to be come one.

When I left Cambridge, I applied to regional repertory theaters in the U.K. and got accepted by one of them... And here I am, still at it.

Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth.

I certainly don't disparage someone whose attitude towards their work is utterly different from mine - that's up to them.

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.

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.

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.

 I've got a waistline to develop.

I think the point to be understood is that we're all different. I've never been a fan of theories of acting. I didn't go to drama school, so I was never put through a training that was limited by someone saying, 'This is the way you should act.'

I have got prostate cancer, and I have to keep monitoring that. It's no problem, it's under control and I'm very cool about it, but other people are dying from it.

It's only fair that stable gay relationships of long standing should have the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. I know the image of gay marriage is to some people horrific and ludicrous.

When you were on stage, you could be absolutely open about your emotions and indulge them and express yourself in a way that - in real life - I wasn't doing.

It is really, really wonderful that in your old age you are protected by specialists who understand your problems and sort them out for you. Well, isn't that what we all need?

There's no sex in Middle Earth.

Aardman Animation (of Wallace and Gromit fame) and I have made a brief birthday tribute to celebrate Stonewall's 30th today. I hope you'll enjoy it, and join us in the continuing fight for LGBT+ equality @StonewallUK.

'I even loved his Twankey': Dench, Hopkins, Mirren and more on Ian McKellen at 80

As part of an extended podcast recently, I suggested that if closeted people were instead open about their sexuality they wouldn’t abuse others. That, of course, is wrong.
My intention was to encourage the LGBT audience I was addressing, to be proud and open about their sexuality. In doing so, my point was clumsily expressed. I would never, ever trivialise or condone abuse of any kind.
I deeply regret my careless remarks and apologise unreservedly for any distress I caused.
When it comes to abuse by people in positions of power, the correct response is clear. The accusers must be heard and the accused given the opportunity to clear their names. If the accusations prove credible, the abuser’s access to power should be removed.

My trade union Equity is 90 this year and I’m proud to be part of its fight for better, fairer and more equal pay and conditions, safe workplaces and for investment in the arts. 

My UK tour of more than 80 UK theatres begins today in London, where previously-announced shows have sold out. I'm pleased some theatres are adding matinee performances, and we hope to announce a new London venue soon. Stay tuned.

Last year I had the pleasure of narrating Ben Ockrent's beautiful short film, EDMUND THE MAGNIFICENT: a modern fairytale about a young pig's quest for true love. It's now available to watch online for free.

Happy Birthday Doug Jones!

I've never hidden my Christianity in Hollywood, and I've been handled respectfully because I handle the issue and other people respectfully. 

I learned mime back when I was in college, at Ball State University, Indiana. That woke up my body from the neck down and made me realize that acting and communication - portraying a story, event, or emotion - is a full-body experience.

My very favorite costumed character I've played would be Abe Sapien from the 'Hell Boy' movies. I love this guy.

The gaming world is a complete mystery to me! Well, I did play Pac Man and Frogger using big machines at an arcade back in the '80s.

To me I don't deal with stress well at all, and it is stressful enough for me to deal with my own one character. So if I had to deal with all the characters and the special effects, and the editing and make the writing tweaks and do everything the director does, that would drive me to an early grave, and I just can't do it. 

I can put my legs behind my head, but that's pretty much it. An early agent said to me, 'If you can put your legs behind your head, let's say you're a contortionist!' So I got sent out for everything twisty and bendy. It's a good conversation starter. 

I have such freedom when I'm living through a mask, and by contrast, can feel very exposed when a camera is capturing my real face. Kind of like the difference between walking out your front door in a sweater and jeans or in a Speedo.

I really connect with every character that I've played, just because I kinda have to; as an actor, you want to take them in and get to know them and like them; because they're evil, you kinda have to like them so that you can understand them and play them and play them with some kind of empathy.

That's what I love about geeks, that they can call themselves a geek and be proud of it. I love that. I even have a necklace with the word 'geek' spelled out in rhinestones, and I'm very proud, myself. 

Whether it's t-shirt and jeans or full monster suit, I'm still an actor underneath it all, and a good director is going to know that.

The question always arose from both fans and friends was, 'Have you ever done 'Star Trek,' and if not, would you want to?' And the answer was always, 'No, I haven't, and yes, I would love to!' So now, at the age of 57, I can finally say, 'I'm in the new Star Trek!' And I'm so excited about it! 

I'm a very happy-go-lucky lover of all mankind as a person in real life. So when I play a darker character, I have to tap into something that isn't my natural way, and what I found was that I think human beings have the potential for all of these emotions.

What sweetens the deal for me is that I get to develop an alien species from the ground up. I'm playing Saru, a Kelpian, and this race has never been seen before in any 'Star Trek' series.

I am kind of a freak of nature who has loose joints, and I was able to put my legs behind my head, and it looked weird to people when I was a kid, so I kept doing it. It's a great party gag.

I never sought to play monsters in films.

My favorite thing to pass the time in the makeup chair is YouTube videos of talking cats. I don't know why, but they make me laugh.

Actors are divas, and we all make too much noise and complain too much, so if you don't do that, it makes you rather exceptional, apparently.

I'm surprised how many commercials and sitcoms and movies have a need for, 'We just need something to come by the camera that's really weird.' They call Doug Jones.

I'm in an age bracket now where I can play the father of an adult daughter whose going through her life issues, and she'll come to me for advice while I'm wearing my Christmas sweater and swirling a cup of hot cocoa.

I'm not usually the guy who has people hiding in his bushes and saying, 'Will you love me forever and ever?' 

I do so many convention appearances and have a lot of face-to-face interaction with the fans. They tell me that they prefer seeing a live human being in a costume. Humans like to watch other humans, period, whether it’s in makeup or not. They can appreciate the artwork that goes into computer graphics—it’s an art form unto itself, getting better all the time—but there’s something connectable when you actually have a live person. The true fanboys actually want to connect with another person, that’s what I’m told. Me personally, as an audience member, I can appreciate the artistry of both types. When it’s completely rendered by an artist with no live performers involved, sometimes it can look like you’re watching a video game. That takes you out of the film for just a second. What I love about the medium is when they can be combined.

People who know your work and know your personality, they know your strengths and weaknesses. A director like Guillermo del Toro, he knows more about me than I do. I trust him when he tells me what part I'm going to be playing in something, because he's envisioned that that can only be done by me. He knows it.

When you're on camera, even though you try to lose yourself in the character, you are aware that there is a camera there capturing every moment of it visually. With doing a voiceover job, you are worried about the sound of it, and you have to make all those visual colors come out with your sound.

That's kind of how my jobs have happened over the years. It's been referrals throughout the creature effects/make-up world. The drawings happen, and they see that it's a tall, skinny thing, and they go, 'Let's get Doug Jones for that.'

My wife and I have never been able to have kids of our own. Physically, it's impossible. The doctor checked. So we tend to unofficially adopt lots of twenty-somethings. I have a real soft spot in my heart for youth.

When I came out to Hollywood in 1985, I thought that I would be sitcom star. I'm a tall, skinny, goofy guy. I thought that I would make a great funny neighbor, or wacky office mate, in a sitcom.