A man hanging out at a birthday bar dressed up as Gandalf since The Lord of the Rings was shocked to come across none other than Sir Ian McKellen.
The 83-year-old actor is best known for playing the sage witch in Peter Jackson’s box office trilogy, then reprising the role for the director’s film. hobbits trilogy of works.
The chance meeting happened on April 13 when Ben Coyles, a 22-year-old music student, was celebrating his birthday in the streets of Bristol.
McKellen was in the city as part of the touring pantomime production Mother goose. The show also featured comedian John Bishop, who just finished a 145-day nationwide tour.
“So it was really weird, it was my 22nd birthday, and we were in a pub,” the reveler recalls, each Bristol Post Office.
“Me and all my friends were walking down the street and I heard behind me ‘do you want to see the real Gandalf?’ I didn’t recognize him right away then I was like ‘Oh my God, THAT’S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!’”
The meeting took place on the city’s Corn Street and was captured on video by one of Coyles’ friends.
“Everybody said ‘what’s going on?!’ He asked me how old I was and said ‘happy birthday’ and shook my hand,” he added.
“I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do or say. We had no idea that he was walking down that street. If I was 10 to 20 meters ahead of him it wouldn’t have happened, the planets were aligned. He’s a really lovely sounding guy, an excellent, kind, down-to-earth and humble guy and I’d like to offer him a drink.”
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by McKellen Lord of the Rings co-star Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo in Oscar-winning fantasy films, recently shared his thoughts on the new wave of Lord of the Rings redo.
After Warner Bros. announced in February that it was preparing to re-adapt JRR Tolkien’s novel, fans of the series expressed disappointment with the idea on social media.
