“I don’t think you’re ever the first choice,” he toldVariety.
“I certainly wasn’t the first choice for Gandalf.
Tony Hopkins turned it down.
Sean Connery certainly did.
They’re all coming out of the woodwork now, and I hope they feel silly.”
Patrick Stewart and Christopher Plummer were all in the running to play Gandalf.
Then he came back to play Gandalf again in the Hobbit trilogy.
His next movie is The Critic, which is in theaters this month.
McKellen also said in the Variety interview that he has no plans to retire.
“Retire to do what?”
But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldn’t I carry on?
I really feel I’m quite good at this acting thing now."
There aremore Lord of the Rings movies in the works now, but it’s still early days.
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