Ian McKellen Pens Original 'Cogsworth' Song for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Film?

In a new interview with Vulture.com, Sir Ian McKellen spoke about starring as Cogworth the Clock in the highly anticipated musical adaptation of Disney 's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

"I'd never been in a musical, and certainly not a Disney musical," McKellen tells the site. "So I think I did rather shamelessly say, 'What's my part?' to [director Bill Condon]. And he said, 'Well, you can play a clock.'"

The award-winning actor joked, "I have written my own song, but it didn't make it in." He went on to show off his composing abilities by sharing some of the lyrics to his original tune he calls "Beauty and the Clock" - "My name is Cogsworth / And I'm a clock / Tick-tock."

Director Condon praised McKellen's work on the film, sharing "He is completely, innately musical, which I suspected he would be, just having heard him recite Shakespeare." He continued, "We did a read through of the show a month before we started shooting the script. And he came in, he just killed every line. It was like you're in the presence of someone who's done stand-up for 20 years."

About Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Disney's live action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast/Prince, Luke Evans as the vain villain Gaston, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth and Josh Gad as his sidekick Le Fou.

The Bill Condon-helmed project follows the classic French fairy tale of a young woman who takes her father's 'place as a prisoner in a monstrous being's castle, only to fall in love with the creature who turns out to be a prince.
"Beauty and the Beast" arrives into theaters in 2017.

A legend of the stage and screen, Sir Ian McKellen has been honored with over 50 international acting awards and is co-founder of Stonewall UK, which lobbies for legal and social equality for gay people. He is treasured worldwide as "Magneto" in the X-Men films and "Gandolf" in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Born and raised in the north of England, 75-year-old McKellen attended Cambridge University and since 1961 has worked non-stop in the British theatre. Among his countless accolades, he has won Olivier Awards for "Macbeth," "The Alchemist," "Beny," "Wild Honey" and "Richard III." In 1991 Sir Ian was knighted for his outstanding contribution to theatre. In 2008, the Queen personally appointed him Companion of Honour for his services to drama and to equality.

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