Ian McKellen reflects on 'The Prisoner,' Gandalf and gay rights

[Blue_Tires]

Reporting from New York - Ian McKellen is still adjusting to the fact that he turned 70 this year.

"You always think that 70 is the end of the road: 'Somebody died when they were 73; good life,' " he mused on a recent bright fall afternoon, looking wistfully out a hotel window at the flame-tipped trees of Central Park below. "You're closer to death, and you better make sure you don't waste too much of your time doing things you don't want to do. No point in saying things you don't believe in."

The renowned Shakespearean was in town to promote his latest project, "The Prisoner," a remake of the cult 1960s British drama about a Big Brother society, which begins Sunday on AMC. It was the day after the New York premiere, and a round of morning interviews seemed to have sapped his energy. Wearing glasses that magnified his famously blue eyes, McKellen leaned back against a couch, yawning as he fiddled with an empty Tic Tac box. When the topics turned personal, however -- such as Hollywood's attitude toward gays and his disillusionment with religion -- he appeared to take his own admonition about candor to heart.

"I increasingly see organized religion as actually my enemy. They treat me as their enemy," said the British actor, who came out 20 years ago. "Not all Christians, of course. Not all Jews, not all Muslims. But the leaders. . . . Why should I take the judgment of a declared celibate about my sexual needs? He's basing his judgment on laws that would fit life in the Bronze Age. So if I'm lost to God, organized religion is to blame."

McKellen's blunt speaking wouldn't go over well in the Village, the setting of "The Prisoner," where his character, known simply as Two, rules over a mysterious desert outpost. When the miniseries begins, a man ( Jim Caviezel) suddenly finds himself in the Village, with just fragmentary memories of another life. Called Six, he struggles to convince those he encounters that there's a world beyond the desert, a notion that alarms the villagers, who have learned not to question the status quo. Every time Six believes he's found a way out, he's thwarted by the calculating and charming Two.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ian-mckellen14-2009nov14,0,4922250.story

[smoochpooch]

1. I wonder if there's any tension between him and Caviezel?

I seem to remember that when he was promoting Passion of the Christ, he was saying crazy Mel Gibson-like shit about his faith.

[Orrex]

2. I caught a bit of a Jim Caviezel love-fest on one of the WGOD channels last night

It was from a few years ago, and they were (of course) praising him for his performance in that movie The Vicarious Sadism of a Certain Subset of Poser Christians or whatever it was called. It was kind of nauseating.

[foxfeet]

9. Caviezel is from Glenn Beck country.

Mt. Vernon, WA. Something in the water.

[TK421]

3. I kind of doubt that...McKellan is a seasoned actor, and very professional in his approach

that wouldn't have played much of a part in this project...

[Flaxbee]

4. If there were, McKellan would wipe the floor with Jim Caviezel.

IM is really such an incredibly intelligent man, and Caviezel (if what I've read is true) is a sniveling religiously insane close-minded wingnut. I think IM is probably very gentlemanly and professional, but if I had to make a bet and Caviezel crossed any lines, IM would verbally (yet oh so politely) scald Caviezel to a smoking little husk.

As an aside, I LOVED the late great Leo McKern, who played Two in the original series. Loved loved loved McKern (but as Rumpole of the Bailey).

Sigh. I miss these great English (or in McKern's case, Aussie) actors: McKern, Jeremy Brett, John Thaw (Inspector Morse).

[TK421]

5. If I was 50 years older and gay, I would approach Ian McKellan

and hope he would take me....that is how much respect I have for this man...love him to pieces

[RoyGBiv]

7. Same here ...

He's my man-crush.

[TK421]

10. HA HA!!! yeah, he certainly seems to be a real class-act that man

he did a damn fine job as Magneto, I must add

[Deja Q]

6. "The Prisoner" wasn't a "big brother" scenario. It's a bit more complicated and specific than that.

Of course, most people equated the show as "sci-fi" too.

The fact they're fucking around with the names and by the sounds of things the premise too, it's another vapid hollywood remake, I refuse to watch it.

He's a good actor, but I suppose a job is a job.

[Blue_Tires]

11. i just hope it's as good as that 'Simpsons' spoof

[Brickbat]

8. Wait, so he's the same No. 2 every time? What the?

But, yeah, I love IM. And I'll watch the remake, while just going into it with the knowledge that it is NOT the original and never CAN be the original.