Ian McKellen

“Prejudice is the child of ignorance.”

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

“The great thing about acting is that you can do it until you fall over. There are no rules.”

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

“I've always been a wanderer. I've always been a searcher.”

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

“There is no generosity in giving to others what you would not take for yourself.”

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

“Life is too short to be spent doing things you don't enjoy.”

“Everything I do is a political act.”

“My acting is not manual, but instinctive. I don't do a lot of research.”

“The privacy of a public person is a myth.”

“There's no bigger thrill than acting on stage.”

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