Ian McKellen‘s portrayal of Gandalf was one of the most appreciated performances in the ‘Lord of the Rings‘ trilogy. He was the only cast member of the film series to receive an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Moreover, he was one of the few actors to reprise his role as Gandalf in the prequel trilogy, ‘The Hobbit’.
It makes one wonder, what the veteran actor used as inspiration to bring out the persona of the White Wizard. McKellen puts an end to these doubts as he opens up about his experience with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ character. Here’s what Ian McKellen named his inspiration.
Ian McKellen Listened To J.R.R. Tolkien’s Audio Recording To Portray Gandalf
Inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places and for Ian McKellen, it was the great author, J.R.R. Tolkien himself. Talking with Entertainment Weekly, McKellen revealed, “We found a recording of Tolkien reading a bit of The Hobbit. It was very useful to hear the smoky voice — very English, rather professorial. Well, he was a university teacher!”
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McKellen decided that a voice with such gravitas would fit perfectly with the intellect and divinity of Gandalf. He continued, “It’s not that big of an extension from the audio to making a movie, and of course, he sold the Lord of the Rings film rights. So unlike some of his family, he was very happy to think of them as films, although he never saw our version, of course.”
McKellen On How ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Changed His Life
Besides ‘Lord of the Rings’, Ian McKellen is also famous for the role of Magneto or Erik Lehnsherr in the ‘X-Men’ series. He is a popular face in the fantasy and science fiction film genres. However, it was not always the same for the actor. McKellen revealed how like any other actor he struggled in the industry but was lucky to catch a break with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ role.
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He stated, “I was just doing my job and suddenly everybody knew about it. That level of attention was unusual and I’m very lucky. I’m a rather shy person, but I can go into a room of strangers these days and there’s bound to be at least one person who wants to have a word with Gandalf.”
McKellen has since worked in many film productions and his latest film ‘The Critic’ is screening in cinemas.
