“Baz [Luhrmann] paid me one of the greatest compliments ever. I don't know him, really, but when I first met him I was congratulating him on ROMEO + JULIET - which I think is a wonderful adaptation - and he said, "Oh, well we couldn't have done it without your RICHARD III, which was an inspiration!" I've never quite checked up on the dates to see whether or if, in fact, we did our film before he did his.” IfsThinkingKnowsFirstsWellsSaidDoneFactsInspirationFilmWonderfulMetsPaidComplimentAdaptationNever QuitJulietOh WellRomeo Juliet Author:Ian Mckellen
“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
“I'm cheaper than Anthony Hopkins. 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. Tony Hopkins didn't think it would be an adventure. Tony is part of Hollywood. I'm an eccentric English actor, and there's a lot of us around.” FilmHollywoodCheaperHopkins 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
“Most of the time when you do a job, a play or a film, you're wondering, "Will there be an audience?"” PlayJobsFilmWonderAudience Author: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.” HappensFilmImaginationTechnologyTheaterMagician Author:Ian Mckellen
“My reaction to 3D is subtly. Things don't come out at you, but rather you - The audience come into the film.” FilmAudienceReactions Author:Ian Mckellen
“My memory of 3D movies is Fernando Lamas in a swashbuckling movie. And I suppose it had been the fifties, in which swords came out at you, bullets came out at you, things were thrown into the auditorium, apparently. All that sort of cheap, "Oh, look at us, we've got 3D" isn't in the film.” LooksFilmMemoriesThrownBulletsLamaAuditoriums 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
“It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality. And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian. It`s very distressing to me that that should be the case. The film industry is very old fashioned in California.” IfsWantShouldFilmActorsDifficultCareersCasesIndustrySexualityCaliforniaOld FashionedFilm IndustryDistressing Author:Ian Mckellen
