Sir Ian talks the closet, gets hit on at recent Q&A

As you may have read in our recent review, Sir Ian McKellen is currently in NYC with the Royal Shakespeare Company knocking audiences flat as King Lear.

But the NY Daily News reports that a recent Q&A with the actor was decidedly personal, noting:

"All anyone wanted to ask him about was playing Gandalf [in The Lord of the Rings trilogy] and Magneto [in The X-Men trilogy]," laughs a spy. "And one guy asked him out."

McKellen said from the stage that he had encouraged fellow acting greats Alec Guinness and John Gielgud to come out as gay during their lifetimes, but they had declined.

One thing is increasingly certain nowadays: if you're a gay or bisexual actor or celebrity, you're going to be outed once you're dead anyway (sometimes before you're even in the ground). So more than ever, it's narrowed to a question purely of managing a career versus living an authentic, open life. One can only wonder if these great actors would have had a fuller experience as out gay men (as Sir Ian certainly seems to, propositions from the audience or no).

(t/y Wayman for the tip!)