The Lord of the Rings: This is how brilliantly Ian McKellen was able to stand out from other Gandalf applicants

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER

May 6, 2024 at 1:13 p.m

No “Lord of the Rings” fan could imagine a better Gandalf than Ian McKellen. This is how the star won over the film studio!

Sir Ian McKellen is now a two-time Oscar-nominated actor who is world-famous for roles such as Magneto in the “X-Men” films and Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films. The actor is particularly indispensable as a magician wearing a pointed hat. But back when Peter Jackson and his team were looking to fill the roles for LOTR, McKellen wasn’t an obvious choice.

The studio actually wanted a face that was familiar to the audience and McKellen, despite a long and successful theater career, was simply not a well-known big screen face. Names like Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Christopher Plummer and Patrick Stewart were floating around.

What finally set McKellen apart from the rest and clearly demonstrated his commitment to the role was his approach to using JRR Tolkien himself as a role model and letting his accent and way of speaking be inspired by the Middle-earth creator!

Ian McKellen’s Gandalf is an imitation of JRR Tolkien

In order to bring the wizard to life on the big screen with dignity and in Tolkien’s spirit, McKellen imitated the tone and tone of Tolkien, whom he is said to have met in persona decades before in a bar.

But McKellen not only studied Tolkien’s way of speaking, but also read his entire work in preparation for the role and sacrificed many nights to prove to the film studios that he was the right choice for the role (via Sensacine). And today it has been proven!

Director Peter Jackson had actually decided on Sir Patrick Stewart, but then co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens showed him footage of Stewart together with McKellen (possibly from “X-Men”, where McKellen and Stewart played together).

This is said to have been the moment when it was clear to Jackson that he wanted McKellen for the role and that all he had to do was convince the studio, which ultimately happened through McKellen’s dedication.

At the end of the year we can actually expect another movie from the “Lord of the Rings” universe, in which Philippa Boyens is once again involved. It is a prequel film titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The new season of the series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” will also be released.