These days, Ian McKellen is thinking a lot about queer celebrity. He’s currently advising on a production of Christopher Marlowe’s 1594 play Edward II at RSC, helping fellow gay actor Daniel Evans tackle the titular role of England’s first gay king, which McKellen played all the way back in 1969.
Working with Evans, as well as gay actor Simon Russell Beale, who played the role in 1990, has McKellen reflecting on being out and in the spotlight. “You don’t have to be gay to play Edward II,” he joked in a new interview with The Times. “But it helps.”
That includes considering the global status of queer folks, like trans people America who are having their rights stripped away. “We always have to be alert,” McKellen said. “In this country, I hope because of gay marriage, more people are less frightened and more accepting of gay people. Elsewhere the picture is not so good.”
With that, he encouraged other celebrities to follow the example he set in 1988 by coming out of the closet.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
“I have never met anybody who came out who regretted it,” McKellen said. “I feel sorry for any famous person who feels they can’t come out. 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.”
Related
“I felt like a weird, gross, cut-open, circus freak, wounded human being that had my guts spilling out,” Allen shared in a new TikTok.
“Che Diaz nachos”
Edward II focuses on the relationship between the king and Piers Gaveston, his chosen favorite. That relationship includes a same-sex kiss, which prompted scandal around McKellen’s 1969 production in Edinburgh, which he said had several gay cast members.
“We were very aware that homosexuality was illegal in Scotland,” McKellen said. “We also had a sense it was our play, although it wasn’t billed or directed as overly gay propaganda. Edward isn’t a very attractive character. He starts the play as someone who is innocent and beautiful in his love for Gaveston, then becomes a bit of a monster.”
That Edinburgh production later transferred to London and was broadcast on TV, making McKellen’s kiss with straight co-star James Laurenson the first same-sex kiss on British television.
“I still hear from men of my generation who say that kiss was a huge moment for them,” McKellen said. “I think the greatest moment of my career was, after one performance at the Piccadilly Theatre, introducing Noël Coward and Rudolf Nureyev backstage — both closeted gay men.”
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
