Lord of the Rings Star, 85, Plans to Keep Acting
The 85-year-old actor Ian McKellen has said he has no plans to retire from acting — and he might even appear in another Lord of the Rings movie.
But the British star, well known for playing the role of Gandalf in the movies, is taking a short break as he recovers from a fall on stage this summer.
McKellen hurt his back and his wrist when he fell during a performance in London in June.
However, he said his injuries hadn't been as bad as they sounded, and he is hoping to go back to work next year.
It was announced earlier in 2024 that there will be a new Lord of the Rings movie in 2026.
It's called The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and it will be directed by Andy Serkis. Serkis played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies in the early 2000s, and will return to play him again in the new film.
McKellen said he might be appearing in the movie as well.
"I may even be going back to play Gandalf again," he told The Big Issue magazine.
He added: "I can't tell you any more than that. I've just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved, and they hope that I'll be playing him."
However, his voice won't be used in Kenji Kamiyama's animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is coming to cinemas in December this year.
McKellen has been acting since the early 1960s, enjoying one of the longest careers of anyone still acting today.
Another British actor, Michael Caine, who is 90, said last year he had retired from acting. But Dick Van Dyke — who was in Mary Poppins in 1964 — is still performing at the age of 98!
