Ian McKellen, the actor who brought Gandalf to life, shared his wisdom in a recent Q&A with The Guardian, revealing the worst advice he ever received. The Lord of the Rings star recalled a lunch with Alec Guinness in late 1980s London, where the Star Wars legend urged him to stop his LGBTQ+ advocacy.
Guinness' Plea to McKellen
McKellen founded the LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall in 1988 after coming out as gay. As the group campaigned against discriminatory UK laws, Guinness told McKellen it was "somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs" and pleaded with him to withdraw. McKellen called it "advice from an older generation" that he chose not to follow.
Reflections on the Conversation
Decades later, McKellen wondered if Guinness' concern stemmed from "latent bisexuality" hinted at in the play "Two Halves of Guinness." In a 2014 Pride Month speech, McKellen recalled Guinness saying not to "sully himself with politics, especially anything as dirty as homosexuality," attributing it to "self-hatred." Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi, never publicly identified as bisexual, but biographies after his 2000 death suggested it.
