'No Nudes' For McKellen's 'LEAR' On PBS

Yahoo News reports that stage and screen star Ian McKellen is fine that his full-frontal nude scene as King Lear is missing from an upcoming public TV version. On stage the actor let it all hang out and them some in his portrayal of Shakespeare's mad king.

McKellen explained that an actor who takes his clothes off can divert an audience's attention from the drama itself, "If it's a distraction of that sort, it's not worth the candle".

David Horn, executive producer of the "Great Performances" series presenting the play for PBS, said he and Trevor Nunn, director of the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production, made the decision to "suggest" the nudity.

Sir Ian McKellen and the rest of the key KING LEAR cast taped the play for television cameras in a British studio, under the eye of director Trevor Nunn. The result is scheduled to be broadcast starting March 25th on PBS stations, courtesy of the "Great Performances" series produced by New York's WNET. 

To read the entire Yahoo report click here.

Sean Mathias will direct Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot which is his first production as Artistic Director of the 2009 Theatre Royal Haymarket Company. Waiting for Godot will tour the UK prior to its opening in London in April.

Ian McKellen makes his Beckett debut as Estragon. He will play alongside Patrick Stewart following their onscreen rivalry in the X-Men films. McKellen has previously collaborated with Sean Mathias who has directed him as Uncle Vanya, the Captain in Dance of Death and as Widow Twankey twice. Since he started acting in 1961, he has worked non-stop on stage and screen. For The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Companies, McKellen has produced and acted in plays old and new, most recently on the RSC's world tour as King Lear.

Olivier Award-winner McKellen received a Tony Award for his performance in Amadeus, and was nominated for his work in Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare. Other Broadway credits include Dance of Death, Wild Honey and The Promise. Perhaps best-known to most for his performances in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and the X-Men franchise (along with Stewart), he has also appeared in films as Apt Pupil, Gods and Monsters (in which he received his first Oscar nomination), Bent and Six Degrees of Separation, as well as The Da Vinci Code.

Photo Credit: Retna Ltd.

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