There are not many things in my life I can be absolutely proud of or certain I got right, but one of them is that I've got better as an actor. I've learnt how to do it. And I still have enough energy to do it. - Ian McKellen
There are people who've enjoyed my work in the theater, and they let me know that it was special for them. I'm not going to say, 'Well, you should have seen me as Gandalf!' - Ian McKellen
There are still times in my life where I pull back from being totally honest, and I can't imagine a single straight person who would understand that. - Ian McKellen
Very, very rare that you do a job knowing that the audience is desperate for you to do that job. Most films you make don't get released, is the fact. - Ian McKellen
What I particularly like about Broadway is the camaraderie and the friendship of other people in other shows. Everybody knows you're opening and cares about you. There's a real village atmosphere. - Ian McKellen
What's nice for me, having identified myself for years as being rather shy, is now, wherever I am, in public, there tends to be a friendly face who's pleased to see me, and I like that. - Ian McKellen
When I appeared in 'Coronation Street,' I lived in Manchester and enjoyed it very much. - Ian McKellen
When I came out, I told my stepmother Gladys, and she just said she had known for years and was glad I wasn't lying anymore. - Ian McKellen
When I left Cambridge, I applied to regional repertory theaters in the U.K. and got accepted by one of them... And here I am, still at it. - Ian McKellen
When I went to lobby Nelson Mandela while the post-apartheid constitution was being drafted, I asked him to endorse making it illegal to discriminate on grounds of sexuality. I'd been warned that he might giggle if I mentioned homosexuality. - Ian McKellen
When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements. - Ian McKellen
When we'd suggested doing it, the Theatre Royal management had said, 'Nobody wants to see Waiting for Godot.' As it happened, every single ticket was booked for every single performance, and this confirmation that our judgment was right was sweet. Audiences came to us from all over the world. It was amazing. - Ian McKellen
When you grumble about a taxi being dirty, people your own age will absolutely agree with you, whereas younger people say, 'You should be so lucky to have a taxi - I walk to work!' So I have lots of young friends, who fortunately don't treat me as a guru, a person that knows all the answers. - Ian McKellen
When you were on stage, you could be absolutely open about your emotions and indulge them and express yourself in a way that - in real life - I wasn't doing. - Ian McKellen
Will I miss Gandalf? Well, I don't miss him, because people are constantly coming up to me mentioning him and talking about him, so I don't feel that I've lost contact. - Ian McKellen
All experiences, what does not kill you makes you stronger and tougher I think. Life's experiences, whether they be pleasant, unpleasant, torturous or excruciatingly wonderful and blissful, season you somehow and you learn from them. - Mel Gibson
Boot Camp was great and very interesting. You got to use live rounds of ammunition and got to do a lot of crawling around with live rounds flying around you, so you really had to learn to keep your ass down - everything down for that matter. - Mel Gibson
Boy, there's nothing more thrilling than a chase. I'd often thought, over the years, that someone should do a whole film where it's nothing but a chase. I have learned that a bitter experience can make you stronger. I now boastfully say that I have a hide like a rhinoceros... and I'm smiling. It's an interesting thing. - Mel Gibson
I don't think of myself as either American or Australian really, I'm a true hybrid. It's a good thing for me because both of them are really good countries. - Mel Gibson
I was spiritually bankrupt, and when that happens, it's like a spiritual cancer afflicts you. - Mel Gibson
It's all happening too fast. I've got to put the brakes on or I'll smack into something. - Mel Gibson
Life's experiences, whether they be pleasant or unpleasant, torturous or excruciatingly wonderful and blissful, you know, season you somehow and you learn from them. - Mel Gibson
My biggest weakness is that I'm excessive. Fortunately for everyone concerned, I'm not as excessive as I used to be. - Mel Gibson
The very first idea I ever had about making a film... my first thought about ever being a filmmaker was when I was sixteen years old and I wanted to make a Viking movie. And I wanted to make it in old Norse, which I was studying at the time. It's odd because at that age that's a stupidly ridiculous idea 'cause how will I ever be a filmmaker. - Mel Gibson
Connect with
Login with Facebook