Here’s something wholesome for you – Sir Ian McKellen, having hurt his leg on the way to the train station, was unable to perform as King Lear at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, last night. Being injured, the show was unfortunately cancelled 30 minutes after it was supposed to begin. But instead of sending everyone home disappointed, McKellen pulled up a chair, sat himself down, and spent over an hour answering questions, telling anecdotes, and sharing his adoration for the theatre.
AND, everyone got a refund.
[jwplayer ZcA6SNov]
https://twitter.com/LisaMillar/status/1025803719785541633
Gadgette journo Holly Brockwell posted a picture of McKellen mid-story to her Instagram and according to Brockwell, the 79-year-old whipped out some lines as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings and recited several Shakespeare scenes on the go.
Per Brockwell’s Twitter thread, McKellen said that on the set of The Lord of the Rings he had all three of the novels tucked somewhere in his robes. Between takes he would read each scene as it was written by J.R.R. Tolkien and then hand over some notes to Peter Jackson on “interesting Gandalf bits he hadn’t written in.”
But then and in McKellen’s own words, “Neither of us caught the line is actually ‘You cannot pass’. One of the most famous lines, and we got it wrong!”
You can read Brockwell’s full recount of the experience, HERE.
How cute are the actors and crew peeking in from the side?
And then, McKellen invited his fellow cast mates on stage and they all received a standing ovation:
Standing ovation for Sir Ian McKellen, who welcomed his cast mates to the stage after being unable to perform. While I’m obviously disappointed to not see King Lear, it was a privilege to hear McKellen share his thoughts on theatre this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/r8TCWJJJwX
— Katie Simpson (@Katie___Simpson) August 4, 2018
Goddamn, that’s sweet.
Earlier this month it was revealed McKellen would be co-starring with Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, and James Corden in a film adaption of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats.
Meanwhile, McKellen’s best mate Sir Patrick Stewart has announced that he’ll be reprising his iconic role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series for the CBS All-Access service.
It’s still extremely early days so a premier date is unknown but this is excellent, excellent news.
Stewart posted the news to his Instagram writing “It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over.”
To this I have to say, “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.”
