Ian McKellen Played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings Because 2 Stars Turned Down the Role

Today it is difficult to imagine any other Gandalf than the one created by Ian McKellen. However, the wizard from Lord of the Rings could have been played by two other popular actors who ultimately turned down the role - they are the ones McKellen mentions in a recent interview for Variety.

McKellen was not the first choice for the role of Gandalf

In the aforementioned interview with the British actor, several topics were discussed, but for fans of the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, the most interesting issue discussed should be the casting of the role of Gandalf.

From McKellen's statement, we can learn that previously the role of this character was offered to Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins. However, neither of these two famous actors took the job on the set. Consequently, Ian McKellen was cast as the wizard. The actor playing the role of Gandalf hopes that the artists who turned down the proposal "feel silly."

However, the British actor seems to have gotten a bit ahead of himself in his statement, because... Sean Connery has been dead for three years, so McKellen must have meant only Hopkins.

Still, there's no denying that the actor can feel satisfaction. After all he played the role of Gandalf across several movie - from The Fellowship of the Ring to The Battle of the Five Armies.

To end the message, a reminder that both The Lord of the Rings, as well as The Hobbit, are available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video. In the latter service you will also watch Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.