Aug 23, 2007

An Autograph to Cherish

From John Lahr's engaging profile of Ian McKellen in the current New Yorker (not available online, so I've got to type this in manually), I relished this anecdote the most:
Lobbying against Clause 28 [legistlation that aimed to prohibit local authorities from publishing material condoning homosexuality or from referring it to in state schools as an acceptable lifestyle], McKellen used his connections to buttonhole politicians, including one of Britian's most fervid anti-gay spokesmen, Michael Howard, who was later the Conservative Party leader. After a fruitless meeting, Howard requested an autograph for his children. McKellen obliged. "Fuck off! I'm gay," he wrote.

There's also some interesting scuttlebutt about how McKellen's full-bore approach to acting (some of it cited here) has alienated some co-stars, including Helen Mirren, but Lahr doesn't really follow up on it.

No comments: