Video: Ian McKellen Talks Pantomime, Shakespeare, and More on CNN
"I don’t have anything to prove," he said of his career.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 10, 2023
Ian McKellen chatted with Christiane Amanpour on CNN yesterday, where he discussed playing Mother Goose in a pantomime, his Shakespeare experience, and more.
"I don't have anything to prove," he said of his career. "I'm not trying to make it - if I ever was. I'm trying to give the audience a good time, honestly."
Check out the clips below!
.@IanMcKellen might be best known for Gandalf and Shakespeare, but his latest project is something very different - and very British: playing Mother Goose in a pantomime. "British families go to see pantomime, regardless of class or income. A pantomime is a must!" he tells me. pic.twitter.com/fyL3brsF3N
- Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 9, 2023
At 83, @IanMcKellen is still going strong onstage, performing as the pantomime dame in Mother Goose. Where does he get the energy? "I wouldn't say I have a healthy lifestyle," he tells me. "But most of all, a trick I learned a long, long time ago is I always sleep before work." pic.twitter.com/fN6xKKmUSD
- Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 9, 2023
"I don't have anything to prove," @IanMcKellen tells me about his eclectic career, from Shakespearean ballet to pantomime. "I'm not trying to make it - if I ever was. I'm trying to give the audience a good time, honestly." pic.twitter.com/SfjYI0PL1i
- Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 9, 2023
Will @IanMcKellen return to Shakespeare one last time? He was a bit hesitant to reveal it when I asked, but... "I've been asked to play Falstaff, which is a mighty part... It's a part I've resisted and may still resist, but I am considering it... Yes, I would like the challenge." pic.twitter.com/iigw9y6qJS
- Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 9, 2023
McKellen made his professional debut at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in 1961. He reached superstardom later in life from 2000 onward when he played Magneto in the X-Men films and Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. On the West End, he has portrayed several characters from works in William Shakespeare's cannon. Throughout his 60-year career, McKellen has amassed a collection of more than sixty major acting awards, including a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and seven Laurence Olivier Awards, including a special Olivier for this one-man show.
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