McKellen's London
(article from Variety V-Life)

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Standing Room Only – McKellen at the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo, London, where he made his Shakespearean debut nearly 40 years ago

If you want to find the best of London, go east. Everything seems to be moving east. I was a bit of a pioneer in that respect. I've been living on the river in the East End for 23 years, and now there are dozens of restaurants and shops to choose from, including a wonderful vegetarian restaurant called the Cherry Orchard, which is run by a group of women who prepare very, very hearty, purely vegetarian food. It's home cooking, but vegetarian.

But as far as dining goes, I really only like one or two other restaurants in the city, both predictable places for actors. When I'm with friends and I want a snack after the show, I'll usually go to Joe Allen's. I think I like it because I can always get a table there, regardless of how busy it is, because I'm such a long-standing customer.

The same is true of the Ivy, which, going right back to the 1920s, has also been a place where theater people like to go. I've seen plenty of famous people there, but I wouldn't presume to go and talk to any of them unless I happen to know them. I met David Beckham and his wife there. I found myself trying to strike up a conversation with the most beautiful footballer in the world, and not knowing anything about football, I couldn't think of anything to say to him. So it was rather a waste of my opportunity.

If I'm just going to go for a drink, I'll go to the White Swan, a gay pub just at the end of my street where the company is always congenial. They usually have a little show late at night, which is often nice for me to pop into if I've been working in the evening.

I also like J. Sheekey's fish restaurant, which is owned by the same people who own the Ivy. That's where I ran into Bob Shaye one night, who just happened to be sitting at the table next to ours. He said how pleased he was that I was going to join them on "Lord of the Rings." I said, "No, no, I can't do it." I'd previously been offered Magneto in Bryan Singer's "X-Men," but the dates of that film had spread. (That same day I'd called Peter Jackson to say, "I'm very sorry but I won't be playing Gandalf because Magneto's taking up too much time.")

Bob said, "Oh, leave it to me," which I did, and, in true mogul fashion, within two days he'd spoken to the head of 20th Century Fox, who were producing "X-Men." So I came to play both Gandalf and Magneto, but if I hadn't decided to go out to Sheekey's that night, and if I hadn't happened to sit at that particular table, it could all have been so different.

As told to Ellin Stein