Ian McKellen on internalised homophobia: ‘The cruellest directors I’ve worked with were gay – I therefore forgave them’

Sir Ian McKellen has shared that the “most cruel” directors he’s ever worked with were gay – and that, because they may have been suffering from internalised homophobia, he “forgave them.”

The star shared his experience of ‘mean gays’ in an exclusive interview with Attitude about his new movie The Critic, in which he plays a 1930s theatre critic with an acid-tongue.

It also stars Gemma Arterton as stage actress Nina, who McKellen’s character Jimmy, a closeted gay man, eviscerates with his pen, before befriending and manipulating her to further his own career.

“I needn’t name them” – Sir Ian McKellen on “cruel” directors

“I think the most cruel directors I’ve ever worked with were gay,” McKellen, 85, told us. “And therefore, I forgave them.”

“One of them – I needn’t name them because it’s all history, but [he was] an extremely distinguished director, worked for the National Theatre and the Royal Court and on Broadway and the Royal Opera, had been imprisoned because of his sexuality,” he went on.

The star of the Lord of the Rings and The X-Men film franchises furthermore added: “It doesn’t necessarily surprise me that someone comes out of that sort of an experience with a bitterness and an acidity that is visited on other people.”

Elsewhere in the interview, McKellen reflected on coming out publicly in 1988, having lived happily but semi-privately with a male partner before then.

“It was true of me that I was out to all my friends,” he explained. “My boyfriend and I lived as a monogamous, happy couple. But we didn’t hold hands. We didn’t put arms round each other. We certainly didn’t kiss or show any affection in public. That would be asking for trouble.”

The Critic hits UK cinemas on 13 September 2024.

McKellen’s other screen roles include The Good Liar and Mr. Holmes.