Ian McKellen says it’s ‘silly’ for young actors to stay in closet
"Being in the closet is silly — there’s no need for it. Don’t listen to your advisers, listen to your heart"
Sir Ian McKellen has offered his take on young gay actors who hide their sexualities from the public in 2025.
Speaking in a recent interview with The Times, Ian said: “I have never met anybody who came out who regretted it. I feel sorry for any famous person who feels they can’t come out.
The Oscar nominee famously came out publicly in 1988, in protest of then-Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Section 28. The clause prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities, effectively silencing discussions of LGBTQ+ issues in schools and public institutions.
Ian, 85, went on to co-found LGBTQ rights group Stonewall after coming out.
“Listen to your gay friends who know better!” – Ian McKellen
Ian, known for films like The Critic and Lord of the Rings, went on: “Being in the closet is silly — there’s no need for it. Don’t listen to your advisers, listen to your heart. Listen to your gay friends who know better. Come out. Get into the sunshine.”
In an interview with Attitude last year, Ian said: “I think the most cruel directors I’ve ever worked with were gay. 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 X-Men film franchise 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.”
Ian is also known for screen credits including Vicious, Cats, Beauty and the Beast and The Good Liar.