Ian McKellen

“I think you should take your job seriously, but not yourself - that is the best combination.”

“Prejudice is the child of ignorance.”

“I think the theater is as essential to civilization as safe, pure water.”

“Everything I do is a direct creation of my acting.”

“Acting is a very personal process. It has to do with expressing your own personality, and discovering the character you're playing.”

“For me, the theatre is the university of life.”

“When you're a gay man, you're a member of the largest minority in the world.”

“I think the best thing about being an actor is that you get to be a lot of different people.”

“Before you know it, you're 70.”

“I'm a great admirer of cartoons. I'm a great admirer of comic strips.”

“It's a question of priorities, isn't it? It's a question of what you want to get done.”

“My acting is a bit like a chameleon. I can adapt to any situation.”

“I'm a worrier. I'm a worrier. I've always been a worrier.”

“When you're a gay man, you're a member of the largest minority in the world.”

“Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I've ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of deceit.”

“You are never too old to be what you might have been.”

“I think being a gay man has made me a better actor.”

“If you're an actor, you should be able to do anything.”

“I have been very lucky, I have been in the right place at the right time.”

“It's the actors who are prepared to make fools of themselves who are usually the ones who come to mean something.”