Sir Ian McKellen has revealed coming out as gay back in the 1980s not only changed his life but helped him forge meaningful connections with others going through similar struggles.
Sir Ian McKellen believes coming out as gay back in the 1980s helped him forge meaningful connections with other people.
The 'Lord of The Rings' star went public with his sexuality back in 1988 and he is convinced that not only did it change his life, but it helped other people all over the world who were experiencing similar struggles.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, the 85-year-old actor admitted he's "never been in the vanguard of change" and his role has been "really been supporting others who understood how to make change happen".
He added: "But I’m aware, because people tell me, that it was helpful to them in their own journey to read about, and be aware of, people like me and Michael Cashman and Stephen Fry, and so many others. We’re all connected aren’t we?
"One of the wonderful things about coming out was not just that one’s life changes totally for the better - because you’re being honest, at last, with yourself and with other people – but that you make connections with other people who have been through the same problems as you have yourself.
"And not just in this country – far away. So, to bear witness just by saying that you’re gay can be a wonderful help to people."
He added of his own coming out: "I just did what I did, and discovered in being honest about myself that I was then connected to lots of other people. My contribution was simply to be myself."
Ian went on to shrug off the notion that he's seen as a "national treasure" and insisted people are getting him mixed up with his 'Lord of The Rings' character Gandalf.
He added: "When people, as they sometimes do, praise me for the effect I’ve had on their own lives … well that wasn’t me, really. That was probably Gandalf, you know?"
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Oasis fans hoping to get tickets for the band's reunion shows are being asked a trivia question to secure access to a pre-sale ballot.
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
This remake of Disney's 1991 classic is remarkably faithful, using present-day digital animation effects to...
Take a closer look at the cast of 'Beauty and the Beast' in the final...
To outsiders, the castle which sits on the outskirts of a small town is just...
Disney have released the new teaser trailer for the remake of the much-loved animated film...
Despite this being a film about Sherlock Holmes, the fact that it's not much of...
The year is 1947. Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) is 93 years old and living in...
Time makes a fool of all of us; even the greatest minds will become blunt...
Peter Jackson's expanded take on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit comes to a conclusion in a...
The Lonely Mountain has been reclaimed from the dragon Smaug. The dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield...
Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the mini-army of dwarves led by Thorin are facing an evermore...
Continuing to be the most original and resonant of the Marvel superhero franchises, the X-men...
The world is verging on an apocalyptic disaster as the mutants continue to engage in...