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Actor McKellen says he received gay death threats
LONDON (Reuters) - Actor Sir Ian McKellen said on Sunday he used to
receive death threats due to his homosexuality and while these had
fallen off in recent years, others were still being subjected to
homophobia.
"There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay," said McKellen in a BBC interview.
"There is a violence of language which can be related to violence in
action," added McKellen a founder member of gay rights group Stonewall.
"My own death threats have declined considerably. I think I've
become rather boring now to the public at large on this particular
issue so I'm thought to be unremarkable."
An acclaimed Shakespearean actor who gained worldwide fame with film
roles such as the wizard Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy,
McKellen "outed" himself live on radio in 1988.
In December he was made a Companion of Honour under Britain's
ancient and complex system of honorary titles as recognition for his
"outstanding achievements as an actor and also for his work in
championing the causes of diversity".
McKellen is due to reprise the role of Gandalf in the two upcoming
movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit", which will be directed
by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
Del Toro, whose credits include "Pan's Labyrinth", will move to New
Zealand for the next four years to work on both "Hobbit" films with
executive producer Peter Jackson, who directed the "Lord of the Rings"
trilogy.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios have said that
filming will begin in 2009, with tentative release dates set of 2010
for the first film and 2011 for the sequel.
(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Matthew Jones)
...I hope the death threats stop and he'll be safe.