Ian McKellen has revealed that Star Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness once advised him to “withdraw” from his “unseemly” public involvement in gay rights activism.
McKellen, known for his roles in The Lord of the Rings and X-Men, recalled the story in response to a submitted question to The Guardian about the worst advice he’d ever received.
McKellen said he and Guinness “chatted about this and that” during a lunch some time ago “until [Guinness] brought up the real reason for his invitation” — that being McKellen’s work with Stonewall, UK gay rights lobby was fighting for government protections for gay people.
“He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall [and] he thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw,” McKellen recalled.
“Advice from an older generation, which I didn’t follow,” the actor added of Guinness’ plea.
McKellen said the anecdote was top of mind after he’d watched the play Two Halves of Guinness, which chronicles the actor’s life and, according to McKellen, “hints at [his] latent bisexuality in a way that would have upset him, I suppose”.
Though he never came out, biographers of Guinness, who died in 2000, have written about his rumoured gay experiences throughout his life, including being fined for a gay act that allegedly happened in a Liverpool bathroom in 1946.
Meanwhile, McKellen — who has been out since 1988 — has long advocated for closted actors, sportspeople and politicians to declare their sexuality, saying last year that he “feel[s] sorry for any famous person who feels they can’t come out”.
“Being in the closet is silly — there’s no need for it. Don’t listen to your advisers, listen to your heart. Listen to your gay friends who know better. Come out. Get into the sunshine,” McKellen told the Times of London.
McKellen most recently starred in the Steven Soderbergh movie The Christophers, while Star Wars is getting its newest entry into the franchise with the upcoming film The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Lead images: Disney and Getty Images
The post Ian McKellen Claims Star Wars’ Alec Guinness ‘Pleaded’ With Him To Withdraw From Gay Right Activism appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
