Ian McKellen Says Starring In A Musical Is On His Wish List

screenrant.com:

Acting titan Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed that starring in a musical is next on his performance wish list. Whilst McKellen's famed role as Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Ringsand The Hobbit trilogies is arguably his most well-known, the Academy Award-nominee is renowned for having an extensive body of work on stage and screen. His impressive diversity of roles range from Frankenstein director James Whale, to X-Men foil Magneto, with the actor most recently seen on screen in the British science-fiction thriller Infinitum: Subject Unknown, which was completely shot during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

However, while the Middle Earth star has become one of cinema's most recognisable and beloved talents, it's clear that it hasn't all been smooth sailing for the 82-year-old. McKellen even came close to quitting acting altogether while filming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2011, thanks to the unusual demands of the production forcing him to act without his fellow co-stars. But despite this hiccup, the actor continued with his career and McKellen went on to play more iconic roles like Sherlock Holmes, and even appeared in a Doctor Who Christmas special as classic villain The Great Intelligence.

Related: Gandalf Can Appear In Amazon's Lord Of The Rings (But Not Ian McKellen)

Now it seems that the Shakespeare veteran still has one last ambition to tick-off his career bucket-list. In an interview on BBC Radio 4 (via Deadline), McKellen confessed that while he feels he "doesn't have much to prove anymore" as an actor, starring in a musical is "one of the few areas left." He then proceeds to outline a rather self-deprecating account of his vocal expertise before further elaborating on his desire to take on the challenge