Ian McKellen Names the 'Star Wars' Actor That Told Him to Stay Quiet on Gay Rights
McKellen said Guinness urged him to keep quiet about gay rights and withdraw support for Stonewall, which sought equal legal protections for gay people.
- In a recent Guardian interview, Sir Ian McKellen, 86, revealed that the late Sir Alec Guinness urged him to "withdraw" his support for LGBTQ+ advocacy, calling it the "worst piece of advice" he ever received.
- During a lunch in Pimlico, Guinness argued that actors should not "dabble in public or political affairs," pleading with McKellen to cease his work establishing Stonewall, the lobby group fighting for equal legal treatment of lesbians and gays.
- McKellen recalled the incident after viewing the touring play "Two Halves of Guinness," which stars Zeb Soanes and explores the late actor's life, including hints at his latent bisexuality that McKellen believes would have upset him.
- Biographers have alleged that Guinness hid his own sexuality, including claims of a 1946 arrest for a "homosexual act" in a public lavatory; author Sheridan Morley suggested he went to great lengths to bury the secret.
- Despite this generational advice, McKellen remains a vocal LGBTQ+ advocate, championing the LGBT Foundation and Pride London while urging closeted actors to embrace their identity: "Don't listen to your advisers, listen to your heart.
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19 Articles
At 48, in 1988, English actor Ian McKellen came out as gay. From that moment on, McKellen became a prominent voice for the gay community, and over the past few decades, he has spoken out on numerous occasions about the lack of rights faced by this group. For this reason, during a recent interview, the actor who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films recalled a conversation he had with one of his peers, Alec Guinness.
Ian McKellen said an iconic “Star Wars” actor discouraged him from supporting gay rights
Sir Alec Guinness, the actor who portrayed Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three original Star Wars films, allegedly discouraged gay actor Ian McKellen from publicly campaigning for LGBTQ+ civil rights, McKellen recently told The Guardian. When asked the worst piece of advice he’d ever been given, McKellen said that Guinness – who he described as “one of Britain’s best-known and respected actors” – came to visit him backstage after a 1979 perf…
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