Sir Ian McKellen found himself being adored and respected by fans around the world when he took up the staff and portrayed the role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings franchise. Portraying the role beautifully, McKellen’s dialogues have often been quoted to this date.
Talking about how he was offered the role of Gandalf, the actor went on to name-drop two other actors who were offered the role before him. Hoping that they would feel silly now, Ian McKellen gave hope to fellow actors that you are most probably not the first choice but that’s all right.
A Wizard Is Never Late, Nor Is He Early
“He arrives precisely when he means to,” said Gandalf to a young Frodo waiting for him in The Shire. Well, Sir Ian McKellen stood true to his dialogue since he arrived precisely at the time when two other actors had already declined for the role of the pointy-hat.
In a recent interview with Variety, the actor talked about his 2023 movie titled The Critic. Based on a novel, the movie is a classic whodunnit with an anti-hero at its center. Talking about the role of Ian McKellen in the movie, the actor talked about how he wasn’t actually the first choice to portray the role of Jimmy Erskine in the movie. Recalling how he wasn’t the first choice to play the role of Gandalf too, McKellen shared his side of the story.
“I don’t think you’re ever the first choice. I certainly wasn’t the first choice for Gandalf. Tony Hopkins turned it down. Sean Connery certainly did. They’re all coming out of the woodwork now, and I hope they feel silly.”
It seems that the actor was meant to portray the role of Gandalf the Gray/White since he based his entire persona of the iconic character on some lines from the author of the franchise, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Ian McKellen Based His Character By Listening To J.R.R. Tolkien
Having such an iconic role to his name, Sir Ian McKellen must have started his journey somewhere. Although Christopher Lee was the only actor from the entire cast to have met the legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien in real life, McKellen never got that chance.
The actor then diverted his focus to hearing the author read aloud his book. From audio recordings where Tolkien spoke Gandalf’s dialogue, The Da Vinci Code actor revealed that that’s where he took his inspiration from. As per the actor, he based his entire character on these few recordings of the legendary author.
Starring in the role of Mithrandir, the franchise became one of the most iconic franchises in the world and earned a whopping $5.8 billion worldwide. The film even got his an Oscar nomination back in 2002. The iconic trilogy is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
Source: Variety
