Damian Lewis Apologizes To Ian McKellen For 'Fruity' Comments

Multi-award-winning HOMELAND star and frequent stage actor Damian Lewis has apologized to Broadway, West End and Hollywood legend Sir Ian McKellen for recent disparaging comments referring to McKellen's role as a wizard in the popular LORD OF THE RINGS films and general career trajectory.

Previously, in an interview with The Guardian, available here, Lewis noted his roots at the Royal Shakespeare Company and his desire to leave the world of stage acting, remarking he feared he could become, "one of these slightly over-the-top, fruity actors who would have an illustrious career on stage, but wouldn't start getting any kind of film work until I was 50 and then start playing wizards."

Lewis has now apologized for those remarks, releasing a statement, revealing, "I am hugely embarrassed that comments of mine have been linked in a negative way to Sir Ian McKellen."

"I have always been, and continue to be, an enormous fan and admirer of Sir Ian's. He's one of the greats and one of the reasons I became an actor," the statement continues.

"My comment in The Guardian was a sound-bite I've been giving since 1999 - it was a generic analogy that was never intended to demean or describe anyone else's career," Lewis concluded.

Additionally, Lewis reports he has extended his "sincerest apologies" to McKellen.

Check out the original article on the matter here.