Ian McKellen

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

“Prejudice is the child of ignorance.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

“Everything I do is a political act.”

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

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

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