How do I act so well? What I do is I pretend to be the person I’m portraying in the film or play. — Ian Mckellen

My reaction to 3D is subtly. Things don’t come out at you, but rather you–The audience come into the film. — Ian Mckellen

That’s the imagination that happens in the theater. That imagination is translated in film by the film magicians and all the technology. — Ian Mckellen

I thought It mIght be fun to take a bus rIde around those buIldIngs and say, ‘look, that’s where we were’, and then the bus show extracts from the fIlm, It’s a lIttle Idea that I’ve long treasured. — Ian Mckellen

The Lego Movie?’ I’ve never heard of it. — Ian Mckellen

The conventional wisdom is that if you are gay, you cannot play the romantic straight lead in a movie. — Ian Mckellen

Ever since the invention of the camera, people have been trying to create 3D, because we see things in 3D, and everyone’s aware that the camera doesn’t. — Ian Mckellen

I’m an eccentric English actor, and there’s a lot of us around. — 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. — Ian Mckellen

Actors are merely the medium through which a story happens. — Ian Mckellen

There are some fantastic parts for older actors. — Ian Mckellen

You can always pick out stage actors at the Oscars: they know how to walk. — Ian Mckellen

In the theatre, the actor is in total control. The director wasn’t in the house last night, the designer wasn’t there, the author’s dead. It’s just us and the audience. — Ian Mckellen

The performance is created by the director. The actor is the material. And I think that has to be true. — Ian Mckellen

Most of the time when you do a job, a play or a film, you’re wondering, ‘Will there be an audience? — Ian Mckellen

Lord of the Rings’ was about saving the world, big time, big duties. — Ian Mckellen

We are very lucky to be men because women have a terrible time getting older parts. It’s much more difficult. — Ian Mckellen

I’m dead against the idea that you should try to ‘cure’ people of being gay. — Ian Mckellen

I think I’m a bit gruffer than I used to be, and I’m certainly older. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

All other areas of my life, I’m hopeless. I can’t even be certain how to boil an egg. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

Splendid architecture, the love of your life, an old friend… they can all go drifting by unseen if you’re not careful. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

I am going around British secondary schools, as a gay man talking about my life, and encouraging schools to get rid of homophobic bullying and to care for their gay members of staff and their gay students. — Ian Mckellen

What’s upsetting about an autobiography is that the final chapter is always missing. I mean, you want the death, don’t you? — Ian Mckellen

It is so painful watching yourself act, particularly because you can’t do anything about it, it’s all done and dusted. — Ian Mckellen

I suspect the base that I’m working from is not particularly one of inquiry, but of memory of what I did last time. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

In fact, my face has shrunk in the meantime, but it won’t be particularly noticeable because it’s covered up with hair. So I hope I’m not alarmed if I ever do sit through the five movies. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

Acting is no longer about lying. It’s now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Honesty is the best policy. — Ian Mckellen

For old actors, just remember that inside you’re only 14. Acting is for kids. You poor old grown–ups, you’ve forgotten how to do what kids know automatically. — Ian Mckellen

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. — Ian Mckellen

My acting stopped being about disguise and became about truth which suits the camera, so my film career took off when I came out. — Ian Mckellen