Ian McKellen nearly Missed Out On Playing Magneto And Gandalf

“I’m just endlessly fascinated with this character and how he can be interpreted and reinterpreted and put in different situations with different genres, and you know, it’s just fantastic, and I find I always want more”. But according to McKellen that’s nearly what happened back in the late 90s and Tom Cruise is almost to blame.

Turns out fate works in mysterious ways – the day after turning down the film, McKellen was offered both Gandalf and Magneto by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and X-Men director Bryan Singer, respectively. “I only got my scenes”, McKellen said.

But did he ever regret passing on Mission: Impossible 2?

“Peter Jackson and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf”.

“…Bryan Singer’s first X-Men overran its preparation”.

And Peter Jackson said, “Well, I’ll keep it free for you”. For his part, Bryan Singer is a Lord of the Rings fan and told McKellen that he had to play the part and that he would get the actor there in time.

Hollywood actor Sir Ian McKellen has revealed he only got to star in the “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” movies because he declined an offer to appear in “Mission: Impossible II”. In retrospect, its damn near impossible to imagine either Gandalf or Magneto, or at least that version of him, played by another actor (even though we have seen Magneto played by Michael Fassbender, theres a difference), but now you realize how close it came to not happening at all. “I’ll make sure you get out in time”. Through his Twitter postings, however, the man behind Magneto has made his lighter side known. Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible had hit so many of its own timing snags that it would’ve prevented both roles if he’d agreed to it. “What you should expect is to have your illusions about Mr. Holmes broken somewhat, although you see him solving mysteries in the way you like him to”. McKellen made it with three days to spare.