By Zack Sharf
Plus IconZack Sharf
Digital News Director
ZSharf See All
Everett Collection Ian McKellen revealed in a recent interview with The Guardian that Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness once advised him not to go public when it came to advocating for gay rights. Guinness allegedly told McKellen to “withdraw” his support for the U.K. gay rights lobby group Stonewall, which at the time was fighting for government protections to ensure gay citizens were treated equally under the law.
“He took me for an Italian lunch in Pimlico, where we chatted about this and that until he brought up the real reason for his invitation,” McKellen told the publication. “He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall – a lobby group to present to the government and the world at large the case for treating U.K. lesbians and gays equally under the law with the rest of the population. He thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw. Advice from an older generation, which I didn’t follow.”
Popular on Variety
Related Stories
