According to the actor “Gandalf doesn’t do weddings,” no matter how much is offered.
Lord Of The Rings star Sir Ian McKellen was once offered one million pounds to dress as Gandalf and officiate at a wedding. The actor, who conducted the civil wedding of best friend Sir Patrick Stewart and fiancée Sunny Ozell in 2013, says he turned down the generous offer because 'Gandalf doesn’t do weddings’.
Ian McKellen won’t officiate your wedding dressed as Gandalf, no matter how rich you are
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, McKellen said: “I was offered one-and- a-half million dollars to marry a very famous couple in California, which I would perhaps have considered doing but I had to go dressed as Gandalf.
“So I said, ‘I am sorry, Gandalf doesn’t do weddings.’” According to the paper the offer was made on behalf of Napster co-founder and Facebook’s first president, Sean Parker, who in June 2013 held a Tolkien-themed wedding.
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A source explained: “The offer to Sir Ian to officiate was made through a mutual friend of Sir Ian’s and Sean Parker.” However the actor himself admitted he didn't know who was behind the offer.
“He was a very rich man, that’s all I know,” he said, speaking outside Newcastle’s Theatre Royal, where he is currently starring in No Man’s Land alongside Patrick Stewart. “I don’t go dressing up – except in plays and things at places like this.”
Parker, whose net worth has been estimated at £1.8 billion by Forbes magazine, is said to have spent a reported £7.5 million on the Tolkien-themed wedding to singer Alexandra Lenas. Guests at the ceremony included Sting and Harry Potter star Emma Watson.
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At the lavish bash guests all donned custom-made outfits by Lord Of The Rings costume designer Ngila Dickson and feasted on suckling pigs at banquet tables draped in white fur. There was also a 9 foot tall wedding cake and a pen of white bunnies ‘for anyone who needs a cuddle’.
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