Sir Ian McKellen, 84, reveals ‘everything’ in his life changed for the better ‘almost overnight’ after coming out as gay in 1988
Sir Ian McKellen, 84, reveals ‘everything’ in his life changed for the better ‘almost overnight’ after coming out as gay in 1988
- The 84-year-old legendary actor came out as gay in 1988 and he admits it was a life-changing moment for him
- “Almost overnight, everything in my life changed for the better — my relationships with people and my whole attitude to acting changed,” he told Variety
- Ian’s career has spanned more than six decades and while he is becoming increasingly aware of his own mortality, he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
Sir Ian McKellen revealed in a recent magazine interview that his life changed ‘overnight’ after coming out as gay.
The 84-year-old legendary actor came out as gay in 1988 and he admits it was a life-changing moment for him.
He told Variety: ‘Almost overnight everything in my life changed for the better – my relationships with people and my whole attitude towards acting changed.’
Ian admits that his coming out had a huge impact on his acting.
The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star explained, ‘The kind of acting I was good at was all about disguise – taking on funny voices and strange walks.
Legendary actor: Sir Ian McKellen, seen in London earlier this month, revealed in a recent magazine interview that his life changed ‘overnight’ after coming out as gay
“It was about lying to the world. I was no longer in the situation where I was running next to the character and explaining it to the audience. I just became the character.”
Ian also said he felt it was difficult for non-gay people to relate to his struggles.
The veteran actor said: ‘People who aren’t gay just don’t know how much damage it does to you when you lie about what you are and feel ashamed of yourself.
“I grew up in a time when it was illegal for me to have sex with a man. And that was not so long ago,” he added.
Ian’s career has spanned more than six decades and while he is becoming increasingly aware of his own mortality, he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
‘Retiring, what to do? I have never been out of work, but I am aware that at any moment something could happen to me that would make me never work again,” he said.
“But as long as the knees last and the memory remains intact, why not continue? I really feel like I’m pretty good at this acting now,” Ian added.
However, Ian admitted that retirement has come up a lot lately and recalled a critic who brought up the idea after Ian forgot a line during the previews of the play ‘Frank and Percy’.
Long career: The 84-year-old legendary actor, featured in 2014’s The Hobbit – The Battle Of The Five Armies, came out as gay in 1988 and he admits it was a life-changing moment for him
TV star: Ian is shown with Marilyn Tayerson in a still from the 1972 TV show Country Matters
Marvel villain: The English actor played Magneto in films based on Marvel Comics and can be seen in the 2006 movie X-Men: The Last Stand
“Instead of understanding that this happens from time to time, this critic says it was proof that it was time for Ian McKellen to retire from acting,” said Ian. “Maybe I should challenge this guy to a podcast where we can debate it.”
However, the actor realized it might not have been a “wise thing to do.” It could only draw more attention to it. After all, I’ve long been at peace with the critics.’
Ian is next seen in the upcoming British historical thriller The Critic, based on Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call.
The Critic premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Set in 1934 London, the film follows an actress who finds herself in a dark situation involving a theater critic and his newspaper’s editor.
Ian was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.