Sir Ian McKellen is one of Britain’s best-loved actors. He has won numerous awards both for his on-screen performances and for his theatre performances.
Sir Ian is someone I would associate with traditional acting but lately he has taken on the main rolls in more fictional adaptations of such Hollywood blockbusters as X-men, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to mention a few.
When interviewed about his part in the film The Da Vinci Code on The Today Show, he was asked if he thought the film should come with a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction as many religious groups had requested, he replied: "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes... an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie — not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story."
The shoot with Sir Ian took place at his pub. Not his local pub, but the pub he now is an owner of as he didn’t want to see it close. A small, atmospheric pub not far from Canary Wharf, facing the river Themes. I expected a man in suit or perhaps a man in blazer and a neck scarf to walk in the door but instead came a youthful Sir Ian McKellen in the door with a colourful shirt, blazer and a giant Koru pendant in the place of a tie. Sir Ian came across as a gentle and kind man who was professional and obviously comfortable in his own skin.
