Ian McKellen was raised in a middle-class household near Manchester and excelled as a student in his public school, even achieving recognition as “Head Boy,” an honorific bestowed on the top student. His childhood was not without tragedy. When he was 12 years old, his mother died of breast cancer. In 1964, his father died in a head-on collision, possibly as a result of a stroke while driving.
Acceptance to Cambridge University further burnished his student reputation. Cambridge was awash in actors at the time but McKellen managed to distinguish himself in several roles. Fellow actor Derek Jacobi was one year ahead at Cambridge. Their friendship and competitive nature follows both through very long careers. McKellen revered Laurence Olivier’s legacy and felt a “preoccupation, obsession to emulate” the actor. At Cambridge, he was “in love” with Jacobi but it never developed romantically. McKellen lost his virginity to a teacher, Brodie Taylor, and maintained a long-term relationship. It ended when McKellen began an affair with the actor Gary Bond.
When McKellen was 39, he met Sean Mathias, aged 22, and began a long friendship and working partnership. Though initially romantic, it progressed into something bound by their shared theatrical talents and ambitions. “As a boyfriend, I was very much in his (McKellen’s) shadow.” Mathias is close to McKellen to the present day.
It is difficult to speak of McKellen’s career without reporting on the intersection of politics and activism. Choosing to pursue acting may have insulated him somewhat but it still came up against discriminatory laws and attitudes. The AIDS epidemic provided further challenges. McKellen performed over 200 one-man performances of “Acting Shakespeare,” which was produced to benefit people affected by AIDS. Ian Charleson, of “Chariots of Fire” fame, was a close friend of McKellen’s and succumbed to the disease in 1990. This effort helped lay the groundwork for McKellen’s future activism and the revelation of his sexuality.
In response to Clause 28, which prevented “promoting homosexuality,” Ian outed himself in a calm manner and diffused the issue – personally, politically and socially. His coming out in a statesman-like fashion affected the way it was accepted. McKellen would be silent no more about his sexuality. He was a trailblazer for gay rights, taking it on as a mission, rare for an actor of his stature. Not until 2000 did the UK lower the age of consent to 16. Not until 2003 was Clause 28 revoked.
In 1991, Margaret Thatcher nominated McKellen for a knighthood. The Honours List was released before she resigned as Prime Minister. She seems like the last person who would bestow such an honor.
McKellen and Jacobi continued to interact and battle over who would be “Olivier’s heir” in the theater. Jacobi is considered a technical actor, true to every element of the role. McKellen is considered more of an improviser, willing to stretch the perceived expectations of a particular role. Though McKellen wanted Jacobi to act with him in “Waiting for Godot,” Jacobi demurred. He didn’t really like the play. Patrick Stewart assumed the role, though explanations differ on which actor was his first choice. Stewart continues to be a close friend of McKellen, who actually officiated Stewart’s second wedding.
Much is made of the roles that certainly launched McKellen into International fame. Magneto in “X-Men” and Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Make what you will of a revered stage actor finding his greatest success playing characters that are about as commercially-based as any role possible. Having never seen any of these films, the stories attached to their wild success did little to convince me that I was missing out.
There are colorful, funny anecdotes in the book but they are sometimes placed rather haphazardly throughout the work. Though O’Connor has written many biographies of notable artists, McKellen is covered in a scattered narrative. After re-reading paragraphs that seem to make little sense, I was still confused. He does succeed in at least providing a complex portrait of an actor whose life, onstage and off, provides rich material.
Ian McKellen A Biography
by Garry O’Connor
https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/
Garry O’Connor is a biographer and novelist, noted for his publications on theatrical and literary figures. He has written acclaimed biographies of Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Paul Scofield, Peggy Ashcroft and Alec Guinness. O’Connor has written and presented programmes for radio, including CAMPION’S GHOST for Radio 4, adapted from his novel about John Donne.
Labels: 2019, book review, Iam McKellen, Stephen Coy
