- Ian McKellen is probably known to everyone today as "Gandalf"
- His role is almost iconic
- But he almost didn't play the character at all
Ian McKellen (83) went down in film history as “Gandalf”. In this role he worked on Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Today no one can imagine another actor as a magician from "Middle-earth".
Ian McKellen almost didn't play "Gandalf"
However, Ian McKellen wasn't the only choice for the role, producer Mark Ordesky told the Independent."We did make an offer to Connery but he said no. We never got an answer until years later, but apparently he read the material and just didn’t get it."
So Connery doesn't seem to have been a big fan of the script. As Ian McKellen told the newspaper, Anthony Hopkins (84) was also in conversation.
Also Interesting:
Fortunately, however, those responsible have agreed on McKellen. This in turn would have almost unable to accept the role, as he was filming for the X-Men franchise at the same time.
Today he is really happy that it still worked. He refers to "Gandalf" as the "job of a lifetime". He liked The Lord of the Rings so much that he acted in all three films and starred in the three Hobbit movies.
