Ian McKellen’s Gandalf in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings will forever be etched in people’s hearts and the history of on-screen Gandalf portrayals. He is the only actor in a big screen adaptation of Tolkien’s franchise to receive an Oscar nomination. Additionally, McKellen is also one of the few actors to reprise his character in Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy of The Hobbit films.
In a 2023 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jackson revealed how the X-Men actor prepared his voice to play Gandalf. Surprisingly, he based his performance on the voice and mannerisms of the LOTR author. “We found a recording of Tolkien reading part of The Hobbit. It was very useful to hear the smoky voice — very English, but rather professional,” McKellen told the outlet.
According to the actor, imitating the voice of Tolkien – who was a university teacher who died in 1973 – was exhilarating because he was not acting very well. McKellen liked the idea of hearing the late author’s voice out loud.
Furthermore, there was not a huge scope for making an audio film. McKellen added, “And yes, they sold the Lord of the Rings movie rights.” “So unlike some of his family, he was very happy to think of them as movies, even though he never saw our version,” she said.
McKellen has had a successful decades-long career, but The Lord of the Rings has brought him widespread recognition.
When asked about his sudden rise to fame for playing the titular magician, the actor revealed that he was just doing his job and “suddenly everyone knew about it.” He considers himself “fortunate” for the love and recognition that this role gave him. The actor quipped, “I’m a bit of a shy person, but I can walk into a room of strangers these days, and there will be at least one person there who wants to talk with Gandalf.”
