Gandalf's 'representative' hails Rings project

By MIKE HOULAHAN

Sir Ian McKellen has had a distinguished 40-year career on stage and screen, but smiles at the irony that his most-seen roles to date have come so late in life.

While thousands know Sir Ian as a famed Shakesperian or stalwart of arthouse cinema, millions recognise him as Magneto -- from the movies based on comic book X-Men -- and as the wizard Gandalf in the three Lord Of The Rings movies.

"Many more people have seen my work in X-Men and Lord of the Rings than have seen me do everything else combined I suppose. That's the nature of being a theatre rather than a film actor," Sir Ian -- in Wellington for tomorrow's world premiere of the final film in the trilogy, The Return Of The King, in the home town of director Peter Jackson -- says.

"Many plays I'm in, the parts have been played by other actors: I'm not Hamlet, I'm just one of many Hamlets or Richard the Thirds or Iagos, but at the moment I'm the only Gandalf."

Sir Ian -- Oscar-nominated for his performance in Fellowship of the Ring -- may once more find himself honoured for Return Of The King.

In it another side of Gandalf is seen, as he transforms from wizard to general, leading the heroic resistance of the city of Gondor against the forces of Mordor.

"He's much more focused, he's much more the commander," Sir Ian says.

"He has more of a fighting demeanour than Gandalf the Grey. He's cleaner, the beard has been cut back for action."

Despite this more war-like aspect to Gandalf's character, Sir Ian admits he wasn't intimately involved in the scene's many action sequences.

"There are a lot of Gandalfs," he says with a smile.

"I don't do anything that's life-threatening. I do fling the staff around and become a danger to myself or other people.

"A friend of mine died on a horse in a film, Roy Kinnear, and I always remember him whenever I might be tempted to say 'Let me do that stunt'. I'm not trained to do stunts."

One thing Sir Ian did wholeheartedly throw himself into was living in Wellington for the two year duration of shooting the three Lord Of The Rings movies.

Having agreed to commit such a portion of his life to the project, he showed similar commitment to bringing a fantasy archetype to the screen.

"Unless you're putting yourself into a part and perhaps discovering things about yourself you didn't know you're not likely to really inhabit the part," Sir Ian says.

"I suppose I related to Gandalf's sense of humour -- his friendship and bonhomie with the hobbits. Otherwise, it would be difficult to relate to a 7000-year-old immortal who apparently dies and apparently comes back to life. You just have to accept those as givens and get on with the humanity of the character.

"I sort of recognise Gandalf, but I am only his representative. When kids are brought forward to meet me I always think of Father Christmas in a big store. I'm not the real Father Christmas, I'm not the real Gandalf."

- NZPA


* Return Of The King opens in New Zealand on Dec. 18.

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings