Skip to content

Theatre Quotes by Ian Mckellen

48 Theatre quotes by Ian Mckellen

All Theatre quotes Ian Mckellen’s page

An empty house reminds actors why an audience matters for a performance. These lines explain that theatre relies on crowd energy, that seasoned actors trust their craft, and that routines like makeup help keep the show steady. They also note that film fame can eclipse stage work, but the imagination born on stage fuels movies too.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

You can always pick out stage actors at the Oscars: they know how to walk.

Image

Actors are merely the medium through which a story happens.

Image

There's something wholesome about the theatre.

Image

My ambition is to get better as an actor.

Image

No actor wants to play to an empty house.

Image

There are some fantastic parts for older actors.

Image

I got intrigued by working in small theatres.

Image

I'm an eccentric English actor, and there's a lot of us around.

Image

Why do you act? You act for an audience. In the theatre, you're in their presence. Film stars don't know what it…

Image

When you were on stage, you could be absolutely open about your emotions and indulge them and express yourself in a way…

Image

There are a lot of actors - I'm probably one - who are most at home when they're on stage.

Image

The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them.

Image

I know actors who have had to turn down good roles because they just don't pay enough. It's hard.

Image

That's the imagination that happens in the theater. That imagination is translated in film by the film magicians and all the technology.

Image

The performance is created by the director. The actor is the material. And I think that has to be true.

Image

When you're on stage with an audience, the director's nowhere to be seen. He's onto the next job.

Image

There are not many things in my life I can be absolutely proud of or certain I got right, but one of…

Image

I'm not experienced enough, or certain enough of my acting on the screen to say to a director, "You are wrong, I…

Image

In the theatre, the actor is in total control. The director wasn't in the house last night, the designer wasn't there, the…

Image

I came rather late to film. I've done an awful lot of theater before - before I discovered the camera, you know,…

Image

I don't any longer make any quality judgement between theater and cinema. They are different experiences for the audience, and they also…

Image

Before I ever acted as an amateur - which I did a great deal at school and at university - I used…

Image

Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only…

Image

If you've been in a film that's seen by millions and millions and millions of people, you're more likely to be recognized…

Image

I've always longed for the theatre and acting to be popular. No actor wants to play to an empty house. We only…

Image

I'm only an actor. I'm not a writer. I'm not going to leave any legacy. All I've ever done is learn the…

Image

I got better as an actor, and still I'm getting better. That's only been possible because there's always been work.

Image

For old actors, just remember that inside you're only 14. Acting is for kids. You poor old grown-ups, you've forgotten how to…

Image

I love the Broadway audiences, who relish live drama and don't hesitate to display their enthusiasm.

Image

Gandalf's a good guy, and it's a good part. He says the right things, he believes the right things. An actor can…

Image

On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact.

Image

I used to comfort myself when I became an actor that it was a useful job, entertaining people. And it was important…

Image

I'm not being offered a constant stream of wonderful parts with wonderful directors that would keep me away from the theatre. When…

Image

There are people who've enjoyed my work in the theater, and they let me know that it was special for them. I'm…

Image

You would be surprised how many directors don't know what they want. They might not know what they want until they see…

Image

Macbeth is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of Macbeth.…

Image

'King Lear,' I've been seeing all my life. I mean, the great actors of my lifetime... to join their company, as it…

Image

I have never wanted to be typecast, one of those actors who plays a variation on a one-note theme. So just as…

Image

So it's joyful to me, in my 71st year, to be able to be in a play that is absolutely right for…

Image

The strength of British theatre should be that these actors in their middle years know what they're doing and are good at…

Image

Other authors on Theatre

More by Ian Mckellen

I've always longed for the theatre and acting to be popular. No actor wants to play to an empty house. We only do it…

It's my impression that I've done every job that I've been asked to do.

I'm fortunate to be famous for two rather imposing characters like Magneto and Gandalf.

Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.

If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid…

Godot is whatever it is in life that you are waiting for: 'I'm waiting to win the lottery. I'm waiting to fall in love'.…

I'm only an actor. I'm not a writer. I'm not going to leave any legacy. All I've ever done is learn the lines and…

I'd never read 'Lord of the Rings' until I was asked to play Gandalf, so I didn't really know it was a frightfully famous…

You might be surprised by how interested young people are in older people.

The strength of British theatre should be that these actors in their middle years know what they're doing and are good at it. Not…

Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth.

Elijah looks angelic but his beauty of spirit is what makes his Frodo leap out of the screen. Unalloyed goodness is one of the…

'The Lego Movie?' I've never heard of it.

When I appeared in 'Coronation Street,' I lived in Manchester and enjoyed it very much.

Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people…