Sir Ian McKellen didn't plan to become a film star
Sir Ian McKellen has reflected on his journey to stardom.
Sir Ian McKellen never imagined becoming a movie star.
The 86-year-old actor has enjoyed huge success on stage and screen, but McKellen never imagined appearing in big-budget Hollywood movies.
He told The Los Angeles Times newspaper: "When I thought of being an actor, I thought of being on a stage."
McKellen's parents actually discouraged him from visiting cinemas during his younger years.
He quipped: "My parents gave me the impression that cinemas were dangerous places. They called them flea pits because you caught diseases there."
The 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.
He shared: "I’d been well-known. I’d been on Broadway, the West End, toured the world. But nothing is like the fame that film brings."
Meanwhile, Joe Stephenson, who directed the documentary McKellen: Playing The Part, previously described the actor as "quite a shy person".
The filmmaker explained there's a marked distinction between the actor's outgoing on-stage persona and his more reserved real-life self.
Speaking 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.
"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."
Joe 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.
He 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."
