Sir Ian McKellen is opening up about the worst piece of advice that he has ever received. The advice came from an unexpected source: the “Star Wars” legend Sir Alec Guinness. The conversation took place during a new interview in which the “Lord of the Rings” actor answered questions from fans.
Sir Ian McKellen revealed that he had once had a conversation with the late “Star Wars” actor Alec Guinness about his campaign for LGBTQ+ rights. The discussion came up during an interview with The Guardian, when he answered questions sent in by readers. One question was “What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?”
McKellen explained that he first met Guinness in 1979 after the late actor attended a performance of McKellen’s play “Bent.”
“Alec Guinness sat rather primly in my dressing room, enthusing about the play before inviting me out to supper. I stupidly declined, but a decade later was given a second chance to meet up with the great man,” McKellen said.
Alec Guinness Was Seemingly Against McKellen’s Advocacy Work
During that lunch, McKellen revealed that Guinness had tried to persuade him to abandon his advocacy work out of concern for his acting career.
“He took me for an Italian lunch in Pimlico, where we chatted about this and that until he brought up the real reason for his invitation. He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall – a lobby group to present to the government and the world at large the case for treating UK lesbians and gays equally under the law with the rest of the population,” he continued.
“He thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw,” he explained, later calling it “advice from an older generation” that he “didn’t follow.”
Ian McKellen Came Out As Gay In 1988
During a 1988 BBC radio interview, McKellen revealed his sexual identity and has remained an ardent supporter of LGBTQ+ rights over the years. In the interview, McKellen said that the conversation came back to him when he was watching a stage show titled “Two Halves of Guinness.”
McKellen described it as “a solo show which hints at Sir Alec’s latent bisexuality in a way that would have upset him, I suppose.”
The late actor died in 2000 at the age of 86; however, in 2001, reports emerged that he was bisexual. The BBC reported that the “Lawrence of Arabia” actor hid his sexuality from the public, but was considered out among his family and friends.
Guinness was married to actress and playwright Merula Silvia Salaman. They welcomed a son named Matthew Guinness, who is now 85.
Sir Ian McKellen Is Enjoying A Long Acting Career
McKellen is a well-known figure in pop culture. He will be reprising his “X-Men” role as Magneto in “Avengers: Doomsday,” which hits theaters this December. He is also set to reprise his role as the wizard Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” which is scheduled for release in 2027.
Elijah Wood will be reprising his role as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace will be reprising his role as Thranduil from “The Hobbit.” Andy Serkis will be reprising his role as Gollum and Sméagol, while Leo Woodall and Kate Winslet will join the franchise as new characters. Although many fans were hoping that Viggo Mortensen would return to reprise his role as Aragorn, his role has been recast and will instead be played by Jamie Dornan.
McKellen Teased His ‘Lord of the Rings’ Return In August 2025
In August 2025, McKellen teased his return to Middle-earth at the For the Love of Fantasy fan event in London, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. “I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting: There’s a character in the movie called Frodo, and there’s a character in the movie called Gandalf,” he said at the time.
“Apart from that, my lips are sealed!” he joked amid gasps from the audience.
Although the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy wrapped in 2023 with “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” McKellen and Wood reprised their role in the “Hobbit” trilogy, which took place from 2012 to 2014.
In addition to “The Hunt for Gollum,” fans can also look forward to veteran late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert co-writing another “Lord of the Rings” script called “Shadow of the Past,” which will take place after “The Hunt for Gollum.” It will be written by Colbert, Philippa Boyens, and Peter McGee.