Still spellbinding, Ian McKellen turns inward for the delicate ‘The Christophers’

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Ian McKellen is delayed, and we’re meeting at his home in east London, right on the River Thames. The setting feels reminiscent of his new movie, “The Christophers,” which features an elderly artist who lives in a comparable, historic house.

The atmosphere felt especially strange when I was shown into a living room overflowing with books and a view of the river, and asked to wait. The walls were covered in paintings, a few hung slightly askew, and a large book of David Hockney’s work was prominently displayed. Hockney, a close friend of McKellen’s, had given it to him for his 80th birthday.

When McKellen finally appeared, dressed casually in a blue hoodie and black sweatpants, he had a playful glint in his eye. Instead of greeting me normally, he immediately asked, “Do you know why this room is called the sitting room?” The comfortable sofa and chairs made the answer obvious – people sit there – and that’s what I told him.

“You’re a journalist,” McKellen bats back. “Look around.”

It doesn’t take long to notice that all the paintings – including one by L.S. Lowry – feature a person sitting down. The 86-year-old actor finds this discovery charming, and it brings a playful, joyful feeling to mind, much like his character Gandalf.

Once McKellen sat down beside me, he effortlessly switched between telling captivating stories and sharing honest thoughts. We were supposed to be talking about his new film – directed by Steven Soderbergh and centered on an artist facing his past – but the conversation quickly went in many different directions. He shared memories as if they were presents: studying acting at Cambridge with Derek Jacobi in the late 1950s, Meryl Streep’s unexpected gift of gooseberry crumble on the set of “Plenty” in 1985, and a touching encounter with a firefighter at Ground Zero, who recognized him as Magneto just two days after the September 11th attacks.

Ian McKellen often tells aspiring actors that he didn’t achieve widespread recognition until he was 60. He received his first Academy Award nomination at 59 for his role in ‘Gods and Monsters,’ which led to iconic roles in the ‘X-Men’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ films. While he had a successful career on stage – including Broadway, London’s West End, and international tours – McKellen notes that the fame from movies is something entirely different.

I always found it fascinating learning about how actors get their start, and Ian McKellen’s story is a great example. He grew up in Lancashire, and surprisingly, becoming a movie star wasn’t his dream! His parents actually discouraged going to the cinema – they thought of movie theaters as dirty, unhealthy places, even calling them ‘flea pits’ because they believed you could catch illnesses there. So, instead of movies, his family took him to the theater, and that’s where his love of performing really blossomed.

Initially, McKellen envisioned an acting career centered around the stage. He saw himself as a performer with a public service role, bringing entertainment to audiences. After three years performing on stage in the early 1960s, he inquired with an agent about transitioning to film. The agent surprisingly advised him to wait until his late twenties, believing that’s when men are most appealing to women. McKellen finds humor in this now, considering he publicly came out as gay in 1988. He ultimately followed his own path, continuing to work in the theater, and he’s grateful he did.

Ian McKellen began his film career at age 30 with a role in the 1969 drama “The Promise.” Since then, he’s appeared in many films, ranging from big-budget superhero movies to smaller, character-focused independent films like “Six Degrees of Separation,” as well as musicals like “Beauty and the Beast” and the often-criticized “Cats.”

Despite his extensive experience, McKellen admits filmmaking still feels confusing. He regularly asks directors for advice on acting for the camera, but they never seem to have a clear answer. He recalls Kenneth Branagh, while directing the 2018 film “All Is True,” simply telling him to keep his head still. McKellen agreed, saying he tends to move it around too much.

While filming “The Christophers” in London last year, McKellen asked Soderbergh if he planned to direct more films like that. Soderbergh told him he wouldn’t, and he didn’t.

Speaking from London via Zoom, Soderbergh chuckled and said he wouldn’t even attempt to answer the question seriously. He added that they never discussed it again after the initial conversation.

Steven Soderbergh started with a single idea for “The Christophers,” which he discussed with screenwriter Ed Solomon – a frequent collaborator on projects like the 2021 film “No Sudden Move” and the TV series “Mosaic” and “Full Circle.” Soderbergh envisioned a story about an older artist and a younger one, built around a deception where the true nature of the trickery remained a mystery, as he explains.

Solomon crafted a fascinating story about Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), a once-renowned British painter now past his prime. His adult children, who are not close to him, secretly employ Lori Butler (Michaela Coel, from “I May Destroy You”), an art expert who both restores and forges paintings, to finish a series of his works that could be incredibly valuable.

According to Steven Soderbergh, the biggest failure for anyone creative isn’t making work people dislike, but rather making work that no one notices. He’d prefer to provoke a strong reaction, even anger, than indifference. This fear of becoming irrelevant inspired his idea for a story about an artist struggling with a lack of relevance at the end of their career.

McKellen himself isn’t particularly worried about this. When asked if the film prompted him to think about how he’ll be remembered as an actor, he dismissed the idea with a shrug. “No, I don’t think it did,” he said.

Solomon wrote the movie script specifically with this actor in mind. Neither Solomon nor Soderbergh realized how much the actor loved to paint. Later in 2024, they met with him – right here, actually, on this very couch. Soderbergh had even made a small, framed collage as a gift for him.

Soderbergh immediately thought the man already had enough art, and wasn’t sure he needed anything more from him. However, the man was very kind about it.

McKellen was surprised to learn the play “The Christophers” was originally intended for him. However, he does see parallels between his own life as an older, gay artist with a significant career, and the much more cynical character of Julian.

Ian McKellen describes his connection to the character Julian as stemming from Julian being a bit of a show-off. McKellen explains, while playing with his glasses, that Julian is conscious of his place in the world and, as a gay man living alone, has experienced heartbreak. He adds that Julian is both curious and controlling, qualities McKellen finds somewhat relatable.

He looks at me pointedly. “But I’m a lot happier than he is.”

Although Ian McKellen downplays his film work, he consistently commands attention on screen. His performance in “The Christophers” is particularly vibrant and engaging. Every scene crackles with energy as McKellen clearly enjoys playing a complex character – one who is both amusing and touched by the sadness of losing relevance and becoming hardened by it.

McKellen noted that the film’s quick 19-day shoot schedule was beneficial, with Soderbergh typically filming scenes in only one or two takes. As he often does, Soderbergh also served as the cinematographer.

Sir Ian McKellen explained that while filming the Avengers movies at Pinewood Studios, the directors would visit the set and chat with the actors, but they generally observed the filming process remotely. He particularly enjoyed working with Steven because the director was present and actively involved behind the camera.

Sir Ian McKellen has a wonderful outlook on life and seems to enjoy everything he does. Despite playing an isolated character in “The Christophers,” he’s very active and frequently attends the theater – he saw “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” at the National Theatre just last night. A local pub owner – he owns the Grapes near his home – McKellen has a hearty laugh and fondly remembers happy moments, such as his experiences working with Meryl Streep.

McKellen recalls suggesting a play to Streep as they said goodbye. He imitates her response, saying she enthusiastically agreed, but explained she was too busy with her career at the time, though she didn’t expect that to last forever.

The impression stops. He leans his head back and guffaws. “I’m still waiting for that call.”

Sir Ian McKellen is currently hesitant about returning to the stage. He spent the last year concentrating on film projects, including “The Christophers” and reprising his role as Magneto in the new “Avengers: Doomsday” movie. He also filmed the British romantic comedy “Frank and Percy” and portrayed the artist L.S. Lowry in a BBC documentary, highlighting what he believes is Lowry’s unrecognized talent.

All of this was purposeful in response to a very dark moment in the actor’s life and career.

During a performance of “Player Kings” – a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” – at London’s Noël Coward Theatre in the summer of 2024, Ian McKellen fell off the stage during a fight scene. While he wasn’t seriously hurt, the fall was quite a shock.

When I brought it up, he just gazed out at the Thames, and we sat in silence for a long moment. I could hear the waves gently hitting the balcony below.

He hesitated, then finally said he didn’t want to discuss what happened, calling it deeply upsetting. The atmosphere in the room changed noticeably. Looking away, he began to describe how he’d slipped on a newspaper.

Let me tell you, during one performance, I completely tumbled off the stage and landed right on top of someone in the audience! Afterward, I immediately told the crowd, ‘I don’t do this!’ What I meant was, I’m an actor – I’m supposed to be in control of my movements, and that wasn’t a planned part of the show!

He winces when he recalls the event. “Lying on stage, I actually said, ‘I’m dying,'” he explains. “And in that moment, I truly believed it. I felt completely helpless, like things were happening to me, and I couldn’t stop them. The whole experience left me terrified, and I never want to feel that lack of control again.”

Ian McKellen broke his wrist and chipped a vertebra during an accident, but doctors confirmed he had no other injuries and was not in a life-threatening condition.

He boasts that he easily returned to the set of the X-Men films and playfully ‘destroyed New Jersey’ – striking a pose like Magneto while demonstrating his imagined power. He handled all the filming himself, but then pauses, seemingly troubled by something about the stage itself.

He stops mid-sentence and looks back at the river. While still facing challenges, McKellen has been making progress. He recently gave a series of solo performances to raise money at the Orange Tree Theatre in London and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in January.

He was thrilled to be performing in front of a live audience again and enjoyed getting a good reaction. However, he hasn’t appeared in a play yet. He mentioned a potential local production, but the script hasn’t been written – they’re still searching for the right one.

We can probably expect to see that performance later in the year, once Sir Ian McKellen finishes filming in New Zealand. He’s reprising his role as Gandalf in Andy Serkis’ new film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.” This will be the first time he’s played the famous wizard since “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” in 2014.

According to McKellen, the true measure of those films isn’t their financial success, but the impact the stories have had on viewers. He feels a strong connection to the work, describing his role as a kind of father figure to many, and explains he couldn’t distance himself from it. ‘I felt I had to be a part of it,’ he says.

The interview went on longer than expected, not because of a late start, but because McKellen loves to tell stories. He remembers filming the first “Lord of the Rings” movie in a studio that wasn’t soundproof, so someone had to watch for planes and warn the crew over a walkie-talkie. He also mentioned some Shakespeare roles he’d like to play, but probably never will.

He says there were two Shakespearean roles he always wanted: Benedict from ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and Antonio from ‘The Merchant of Venice’ – whom he considers one of Shakespeare’s gay characters. However, he feels he’s now too old to play them.

He flashes that same playful grin. “I didn’t initially want to play Falstaff,” he admits, referring to the famously plump and boastful character from Shakespeare’s “Henry IV.” “Someone convinced me to do it, and I actually fell off the stage during a performance.”

Just before leaving, McKellen showed me a large book by David Hockney, pointing out a special message the artist had written inside it.

“He’s constantly painting,” McKellen observed, recognizing the strong urge to keep making art. McKellen himself could have pursued a career as a stage actor in northern England, but if he had, things would be very different now.

He explains that if he hadn’t attended Cambridge University, he would have followed his original plan of becoming an actor – likely as a hobbyist or a teacher. Acting would have remained a passion outside of his main career.

“But my hobby became my business,” he adds. “Wasn’t I lucky?”

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2026-04-08 13:34