Sir Ian McKellen's Decades-Long Battle to Perfect Gandalf | Acting Breakdown

Comments · 613

• GU

  @guitarchitectural · 9 months ago · pinned

  Please tell me you edited in his cameo on Extras (haven't watched yet, couldn't resist asking!)

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• ER

  @Eriol-Michael · 9 months ago

  Seeing that first scene, with Sir Ian just dropping his pipe and putting his head in his hands... My heart was broken.

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• TO

  @tom_allam · 9 months ago

  Funny story actually, feel free to call bullshit haha! Sir Ian is family friend and is very close with my dad having worked with him. My family, Ian and I were on our way back from a show and he noticed, through my neighbour's window, that they were watching the first lord of the rings film! Without a second thought Ian strode through the front gate of their house and knocked on the door, despite us trying to tell him that our house was the one next to theirs! Their youngest son (and a big x-men fan) answered the door and Ian asked 'are you enjoying it?' naturally they were absolutely shocked. And Ian said 'it's very good. I'm in it actually!'

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• F.

  @f.f.farms333 · 9 months ago

  Years ago.  When he was doing Waiting for Godot on stage in NY.  I was 22 or 23 at the time.  A birthday gift from my girlfriend, at the time.  I saw all three Lord of the Rings in the theatre  with my brother, my mother, and my grandmother (who passed this year).  I was 11, 12, and 13.   Changed my life.  Forever.  For good.  I just wanted to grow up and be Gandalf.  Anyway!   Sir Ian was leaving the theatre after Godot, and he stopped on his way to his limo to stop and sign my playbill.  Didn’t have to.  And passed many other people.  He stopped and he signed mine.  Meant the entire world to me.   He said he was late to his dinner and I said, “You’re never late.”   He smiled and said, “Nor am I early.”   One of the greatest men of all time.

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• TR

  @trinaq · 9 months ago

  Sir Ian McKellan definitely should have won the Oscar for playing Gandalf, or for Gods and Monsters. Those are some of his finest work.

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• I_

  @I_Go_By_Stiffy · 8 months ago

  Finally man, one of THE BEST actors that's just like "...I...I pretended bro.  It ain't that deep" even though we all could never see another Gandalf

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• SO

  @Sorenzo · 8 months ago

  I feel like the massive amount of bonus content on the DVD release of LotR is a testament to how proud everybody was of their craft. Imagine doing 10 hours of actors going "yeah so this was filmed on greenscreen... And yea, this scene's on greenscreen... Yea, the animators did a pretty good job putting my face on that CGI model..."

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• KA

  @KarnodAdlhorn · 7 months ago

  I find it fascinating how flawed Gandalf feels in the movie sometimes. He is an Immortal being, but He gets angry, he is confused and fearful when Bilbo uses the Ring in the beginning of fellowship and He doesn&apos;t know the Magic word for Moria.<br>I feel like they deconstructed the trope of the wise all-knowing mentor a bit.<br>It makes the story deeper for me that even an immortal being is kinda trying to figure it out.

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• AM

  @amarissimus29 · 9 months ago

  You know why people go nuts about the lore and leave inappropriately long comments about it?<br>It&apos;s because it&apos;s awesome.

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• RU

  @rutherhood5961 · 9 months ago (edited)

  I saw him in Hamlet when I won some seats in the wings through a radio competition. I was 18 at the time and in my first year of drama school so it was such a surreal experience. After the show we left through stage door and I was having a cigarette, it was just me, my 2 friends and another group of 3 people. No one else in sight. It was towards the end of the Covid pandemic at the time and so we’d been told no one would be leaving via stage door so we shouldn’t wait. There we were just talking about the amazing show we’d just seen and out comes Sir Ian to stand with us and have a smoke. He was so down to earth and asking me about my drama training and talking about Shakespeare. It was one of the best moments of my life.

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• EM

  @EmileVinesh · 9 months ago

  In 2023 I had the pleasure of meeting Ian McKellen in London after a play, and it was really inspiring to see him act on stage and in person. Lord of the Rings made me decide to pursue a film career and to see the actor who made 11 year old me say &quot;that&apos;s what I want to do with my life&quot; years later in front of me was an incredible experience.

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• JE

  @JesterfaceBassplayer · 9 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nJrpPg2PZM&amp;t=967">16:07</a> “At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Sam came in. He ran to Frodo and took his left hand, awkwardly and shyly. He stroked it gently and then he blushed and turned hastily away.”<br><br>I remember being taken aback by the tenderness of this scene myself when reading Fellowship. It just felt so earnest and bold in a way, even now in our time. We are fortunate that the most seminal work in modern fantasy literature is so unburdened by macho pretense.

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