Ian McKellen hopes people who turned down Gandalf feel silly

Sir Ian McKellen’s iconic portrayal of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit will go down as one of the greatest castings choices of all time. You simply can’t imagine anyone else in the role. But funnily enough, back when Peter Jackson was casting the part for 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, McKellen was not first choice. He eventually landed the role because numerous other actors turned it down!

Recently, McKellen has been reminiscing about the years he spend playing Gandalf. He can’t help but think that the actors who turned the part down must feel a bit silly now. The actors in question? Antony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter) and Sean Connery (James Bond). Yikes!

“I don’t think you’re ever the first choice,” McKellen told Variety. “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.”

McKellen has previously turned down some huge roles himself. Most prominently, he said no to playing Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. After original actor Richard Harris passed away in 2002, McKellen passed on the opportunity to take over the reins and play the Hogwarts headmaster. He felt he couldn’t move forward with it after Harris had put down his acting.

Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen isn’t done with acting yet!

Ian McKellen, 84, has had a long and illustrious career, including tons of stage work and playing Magneto in the X-Men movies. That said, he’s not ready to retire anytime soon… or ever, for that matter. So long as he’s able, McKellen will continue to work.

“Retire to do what?” he answered when asked about stepping away from the screen. “I’ve never been out of work, but I’m aware that any minute now something could happen to me which could prevent me from ever working again. But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldn’t I carry on? I really feel I’m quite good at this acting thing now.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is currently making noise about more Lord of the Rings movies. He wouldn’t, would he…?

Ian McKellen’s latest movie, The Critic, is out now. The period movie based on Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn boasts an all-star cast that includes Gemma Arterton, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, and of course, McKellen himself.

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