“I've always longed for the theatre and acting to be popular. No actor wants to play to an empty house. We only do it for an audience. The more the merrier. I don't make any distinction between a popular TV series or blockbuster film and doing Shakespeare. They're different, but as long as the material is good and the intention is honourable, it's all the same to me.” WantLongDifferentPlayFilmActorsHouseActingAudienceMaterialsTvsEmptySeriesIntentionTheatreDistinctionTv SeriesBlockbusterEmpty HousesMore The Merrier Author: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.” FilmActingCareersCamerasSuitsDisguise Author:Ian Mckellen
“I'm not experienced enough, or certain enough of my acting on the screen to say to a director, "You are wrong, I am right. I will only do it this way." I could never feel that, I wish I could be absolutely certain. But on the stage, it's different. I know where I am on the stage.” KnowsWayFeelsDifferentEnoughCertainWishActingStageDirectorsScreens Author: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.” KnowsKidsRememberActorsPoorActingForgotten Author: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.” PeopleLyingActingHonestyPolicyEaseRevealingHonesty Is The Best Policy Author: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.” PlayFactsAbleActingComicComedianDistinction Author: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.” DifferentCharacterProcessActingPersonalityDiscovering Author:Ian Mckellen
“Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people asked me what I wanted to be. In fact, I always used to say I wanted to be an actor, but I didn't ever believe that I was good enough to be come one.” PeopleBelieveIdeasEnoughFactsWantedUsedActorsActingJournalistGood EnoughChef Author:Ian Mckellen
“I think the point to be understood is that we're all different. I've never been a fan of theories of acting. I didn't go to drama school, so I was never put through a training that was limited by someone saying, 'This is the way you should act.'” ThinkingWayShouldDifferentSchoolActingFansTheoryDramaTrainingUnderstood Author: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.” WayRealActingEmotionStageReal LifeIndulgeExpress Yourself Author:Ian Mckellen
“I have never wanted to be typecast, one of those actors who plays a variation on a one-note theme. So just as I enjoy playing a wide variety of characters, from good to bad to ugly to cute - so I have enjoyed of late working in film and television, as well as in theatres of various sizes and shapes.” WellsPlayCharacterWantedFilmActorsEnjoyActingTelevisionShapesLateNotesSizeVariousUglyWideTheatreVarietyEnjoyedCuteThemeVariationFilm And Television Author:Ian Mckellen
“Quite low down in the list is "How much am I going to be paid?"... my main feeling about money is that I don`t want to feel as though I`m being taken advantage of... The other actors they asked to play Gandalf wouldn`t go to New Zealand on that money for that length of time. I thought it would be a bit of an adventure... I`m an eccentric actor, and there`s a lot of us around.” WantFeelsPlayFeelingsWould BeActorsBitsActingTakenAdventureLowsAdvantagePaidListsLengthEccentricNew ZealandTaken Advantage Author:Ian Mckellen
“Macbeth is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of Macbeth. It's a short play, it's an exciting play, it's easy to understand, and it attracts great acting.” IfsWantPlayEasyActingAudienceExcitingTheaterSellsProductionsVery Popular Author:Ian Mckellen
