Ian McKellen says he's happy in the autumn of his career
British actor Ian McKellen may have been a latecomer to Hollywood, but the autumn of his career is proving incredibly fruitful
DRESSED IN A SHINY grey suit and sipping a frothy coffee, Ian McKellen is recalling one of his more famous visits to Southeast Asia - Singapore, to be precise. The British-born actor, knight of the realm and gay rights campaigner was appearing on a daytime television show in 2007 when the presenter asked him how he planned to spend his time there. "I said to this clearly straight man, 'Perhaps you could recommend a decent gay bar?' I watched the playback [of the show] and I'd never seen credits go up quicker."
With homosexuality illegal in Singapore, McKellen's answer caused consternation. "I wasn't trying to stir things up," he claims now. "I was asked a question and I gave the honest answer. To some people that seems shocking. Well, then they have to think: is it really shocking for a visitor to say, 'Where will I feel at home here in your town?' "
Thankfully, he did find somewhere to kick back. "That night I went to a gay bar - because, of course, there are some - and I received a wonderfully warm welcome."
Sitting in a suite at London's Claridge's hotel, the white-haired McKellen has a mischievous side, whatever he says. No wonder he makes such a good Magneto, the mutant mischief-maker in the films - a character he reprises in . Along with Gandalf, the elderly wizard that the distinguished actor embodied for Peter Jackson's adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's and , Marvel Comics' metal-bending Magneto has turned McKellen into a superstar.
He knows exactly what effect he has on people. Last year, he was on Broadway performing and . Every night, there'd be a couple of hundred fans waiting at the stage door. "You just put your arm around them, you discover that they're shaking. It is a huge moment for people when they see made flesh an image they're familiar with and they like," he says.
