Sir Ian McKellen initially said no to Gandalf and only scored the pivotal Lord of the Rings role thanks to a chance meeting in a restaurant. While it’s almost inconceivable to imagine wizened wizard Gandalf being played by anyone else, McKellen says shooting for The Fellowship of the Ring – the first film in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster trilogy – clashed with another role he’d signed up for in 2000.
The frank admission comes in a new Lord of the Rings 10-year anniversary special in the December edition of Empire magazine, in which McKellen admits Gandalf was “the role of a lifetime” – but he initially turned down Jackson’s offer. More..
