As long as everything is working why would I want to stop?
SIR IAN McKELLEN TELLS MARION McMULLEN WHY HE’S TURNED TO FILM TO LOOK BACK ON HIS ACTING LIFE
Do you get recognised all over the world following films like The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit and X-Men?
(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.
What would be your perfect day?
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.
What was your first experience of theatre?
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.
What was one of your first Shakespearean roles?
SOMEONE cast me as Justice Shallow in a production of Henry 4th Part II and I played the role as a young man when I was at Cambridge with people like Derek Jacobi, Eleanor Bron and Clive Swift.
I shamelessly copied John Barton, who later worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He gave me every intonation and it went down well. I got very nice reviews.
I held on to it and did it later for all my auditions for jobs and I did it recently at John Barton’s funeral.
He always used to point out that Shakespeare is on the side of the actors when it comes to language.
I understand you missed your entrance during your first professional acting job at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry?
(LAUGHS) That wasn’t very clever of me. I did the first scene, but didn’t get back to the stage in time for the second scene. When I did get back it was to find the actors all coming off after having to do and say all my lines for me.
It was not a good situation at all. But it was a wonderful place to be. You could be a young actor and stay with them for a year and learn on 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.
You are heavily involved with gay rights. How did you publicly come out on national radio?
AT the time in 1988, there was Section 28, a law stopping teachers even talking about homosexuality in schools. I was confident enough of myself at the age of 48 to say on Third Ear on Radio 3 that I feel this law is wrong.
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.
You are now 78. Any plans to ever retire?
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.