Ian McKellen Talks About Coming Out And Lack Of Gays In Hollywood

Ahead of his documentary 'McKellen: Playing the Part', legendary actor Ian McKellen sat down with Time Out London to reflect on his own coming out story, being mistaken for Dumbledore, and the lack of gay characters in hit Hollywood shows and films.

McKellen is very well known by younger generations for his portrayal of Gandalf in the 'Lord of the Rings' franchise, but he admits that many people mistake him for Harry Potter's Dumbledore - a lot.

"People come up to me and say 'My son’s seen all the Harry Potter movies' because they think I’m Michael Gambon," he said. "When Richard Harris was ill, I was asked if I’d consider being in the movies [as his replacement] and I said 'Absolutely.' But I never heard anything else about it."

He discussed how coming out impacted roles offered (or not offered) to him. When asked if it cost him any roles, he replied: "One. Harold Pinter wanted me to be in a film of his [1983’s Betrayal], and he took me to meet the producer, Sam Spiegel. We sat in Spiegel’s office, and I happened to say that I was going to New York. He said, ‘Will you be taking the family?’ And I said, ‘I don’t have a family, I’m gay.’ I think it was the first time I came out to anyone. Well, I was out of that office in two minutes."

He took a moment to point out that Pinter ultimately offered an apology for the incident. "It took Pinter 25 years to apologize for not sticking up for me," he said. "But young actors in London now have all been out for years. That’s the future."

McKellen went on to discuss the lack of gay characters in Hollywood these days.

"Well, nobody looks to Hollywood for social commentary, do they?" he asked jokingly. "They only recently discovered that there were black people in the world. Hollywood has mistreated women in every possible way throughout its history. Gay men don’t exist. 'Gods and Monsters (1998)', I think, was the beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay."

His new project is expected to open some eyes to issues that span generations. When asked if he thought gay actors would feel a sense of solidarity after watching the documentary, McKellen replied: "Well, that would be good." He also touched on how he feels this new generation is more open to changing social norms. "When I go to schools to talk about gay rights, the kids can’t believe it. It’s not an issue for them."

'McKellen: Playing the Part' will be broadcast live to limited cinemas on May 27th with a Q&A with McKellen after the film. It will be released worldwide on June 1st.