As long as everything is working why would I want to stop?
(SMILES) Yes, but it’s rather nice. I’m basically rather a shy person, but if I find myself in a room full of strangers I find they are generally very friendly.
Children have no problem when they recognise me. It’s like going to see Father Christmas in a big shop. They know it’s not the real Father Christmas because he’s very busy. (Laughs) Also Gandalf and Magneto are not characters to be toyed with. I GET up quite late in the morning when I have nothing to do. I like to catch up with the news and have a decent breakfast.
I practise the piano – I’m learning rather late in the day – and I do a bit of pilates exercise. I like doing that.
If the day could end by going to the theatre that would be lovely. I WENT to the theatre a lot when I was a kid. My parents took me to both amateur productions as well as professional and I became interested in acting. I thought ‘That’s what I want to be... a performer.’ I wanted to find out how it was done.
I like watching other actors and I like all sorts of theatre – musicals, panto, old and and new plays. I want to give an audience a good time. That’s what I enjoy. You look back on your career in new documentary film McKellen: Playing The Part, which is to be broadcast to cinemas across the country. How did it all come about? I’VE always been an admirer of director Joe Stephenson’s work. I saw his film Chicken and thought it was a remarkable first film.
He asked if he could come and do an interview with me on film. I had just decided not to write my autobiography. I had been given a large advance to do it, but found it very difficult. I mean, who are you writing it for?
It was just a project I didn’t want to do, but talking about my life to another person on camera was easy. I thought it was a reasonable substitute for writing an autobiography. the job. They used to do a revue every year and put on sketches and sing and dance.
I would have liked to have been a song and dance man but I realised then that I couldn’t sing and dance and should stick to acting.
Most people in my life knew I was gay, but I hadn’t talked about in public before. It was the best thing I ever did in my life.
I go to schools quite a lot now and tell the kids what it used to be like if you were gay and how you were defining yourself as a criminal back then if you were gay and there are always gasps of surprise from them. NO, I enjoy it too much. As long as everything is working – my knees, my brains, and memories – why would I want to stop? I’m getting better and better.
I’m about to do a film with Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon, our fourth film together, and Helen Mirren. I’ve done King Lear for the RSC at Chichester and enjoyed it so much I’m about to do it in London at the Duke Of York’s, where I made my West End debut in 1964.
It’s 100 performances and the seats are very close to the stage. It’s very like when I did Macbeth with Judi Dench at The Other Place in Stratford. I’m really looking forward to it.
McKellen: Playing The Part will be broadcast live from BFI Southbank on Sunday, May. 27. Find your closest cinema at mckellenfilm.com
King Lear runs at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre from July 11 to November 3. Go to atgtickets.com for ticket details.