Gawker: Ian Mckellen

Gandalf Is The Only Gay in Middle Earth

Richard — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:10:00 EDT

Sorry slashers and fan fiction enthusiasts, but none of it's real. Ian McKellen, the only openly gay man thought to be "cool" by fourteen year old boys, says that there was no homo hanky panky going on during Lord of the Rings filming. On the adorably named "E-Post" section of his website McKellen answers a reader's question about rampant rumors of hot Orlando Bloom-on-hobbit action by saying: "This gossip is all news to me. Elijah, Dominic and Orlando introduced me to their girlfriends during shooting." The gays were convinced the whispers were true! But Sir Ian wouldn't lie. Ah well. I guess the fantasies will just have to live on in my writing. Like that Bilbo/Gollum 'ship I'm working on that starts so promisingly: "It was nearly time for elevenses in the Shire, but Gollum had already been nibbling on his precious all morning." Delightful! [Towleroad] Two more romantic slash images after the jump.

From the mailbag: "I saw Ian McKellen in ...

abalk — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:15:30 EDT

From the mailbag: "I saw Ian McKellen in Lear last night. I can confirm that, in addition to a truly inspired performance, he is still swinging some pipe. I hope that I'm still packing like that when I'm 68."

Fit Ian McKellen Meets, Flashes Press

abalk — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:40:53 EDT

In the middle of this Sunday's Times Arts & Leisure profile of Ian McKellen, writer Alan Riding notes the following:

After our conversation this reporter was invited to accompany him while he changed from jeans and sweater into his Lear costume to record a scene used to publicize the production's Antipodean tour. And, at a glance, it seemed evident that he is an actor who still works out.

We're all for participatory journalism, but, wow... dude got a glimpse of Gandalf's staff! Hot!

Every Inch a King (and Buff, Too) [NYT] [Image: Jocelyn Carlin/Panos]

Rush & Molloy Update Ian McKellen's Gay Military Record for Newer Film

Chris Mohney — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:00:19 EDT

Stentorian English actor Ian McKellen — at left, with hobbit — is proudly gay as a heapin' bowl of Froot Loops, but that hasn't stopped him from being inducted into the Georgia state politico-military machine as an honorary "aide de camp" to the governor's staff. Various gay websites picked up this story from Rush & Molloy in the New York Daily News where McKellen recounts the honor bestowed upon him during press work for The Da Vinci Code (some sites misinterpreted this to mean that McKellen had been inducted into the Georgia National Guard). Trouble is, as the New York Blade reports, the Rush & Molloy item is itself a recycled McKellen quote actually given in 1997 during press for McKellen's movie Richard III.

But you know, just swap out the movie titles, it works just as well. The best part? McKellen's honorary certificate proclaiming his status as aide de camp was endorsed by Georgia's then-governor Zell Miller, who probably just assumed that McKellen's gayness was Britishness. The spokesman for current Georgia governor Sonny Perdue is open to both gay assistance and moderate pop culture confusion, noting "this guy is Gandalf and Magneto rolled into one, and if he wants to join forces with Georgia when we must battle evil, we welcome him."

Happy Endings: Ian McKellen National Guard Mixup Solved? [Queerty]
Side Dish [NYDN]
Sir Ian McKellen not appointed to Georgia National Guard [NY Blade]
Georgian Greetings [Ian McKellen]

[Photo: Getty Images]