Sir Ian McKellen appeared to ignore his recent onstage injury problems as he enjoyed a night out at a famous gay nightclub at the weekend.
The 85-year-old took time off the dance floor to pose with two topless hunks as he joined revelers at Roast, a men-only nightclub in north London.
While most of the partygoers were wearing very little clothing, the Lord of the Rings actor flaunted his slender figure in a vintage floral red shirt.
An attendee at the party, which took place on Saturday night, told the Mail Online: “Everyone was stunned when they saw him on the dance floor.
‘Sir Ian was having a great time soaking up the party atmosphere. He didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
“You would never have imagined that just a few months ago he was in the hospital.
Sir Ian McKellen appeared to ignore his recent onstage injury problems as he enjoyed a night out at a famous gay nightclub at the weekend.
“Many people approached him to send him their good wishes. One attendee was clearly a fan of his work on The Lord of the Rings films, as he greeted the star as ‘Gandalf the Gay’.
The joke, which is said to have been taken in good humour, is a reference to the character of Sir Ian in the Tolkein adaptations.
The Roast club’s Instagram page reposted a photo of the actor at the venue, with one Lord of the Rings fan writing: “Gandalf breaks down in every battle, but he comes to Roast.”
Tickets for the fortnightly event sell for £23 and pleasure seekers party until 6am.
It describes itself as “London’s most powerful nightclub” and features ten DJs across five floors and “a huge dark room”.
A darkroom is a space where people can engage in discreet intimate activities in a private environment with dim lighting.
There is no suggestion that Sir Ian visited that area of the club.
The Electrowerkz venue, where the event is taking place, is just a 30-minute taxi ride from the Shakespeare actor’s riverside apartment in Limehouse, east London.
The Electrowerkz venue (pictured), where the event is taking place, is just a 30-minute taxi ride from the Shakespeare actor’s riverside apartment in Limehouse, east London.
Sir Ian’s stage and film career spans more than six decades, but he sparked concern when he fell off the stage of the Noel Coward Theater in June.
Sir Ian’s stage and film career spans more than six decades, but he sparked concern when he fell off the stage of the Noel Coward Theater in June.
The actor, who played Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, was hospitalized and suffered a fractured vertebra and wrist that forced him to retire from the rest of the run.
He later said he felt “embarrassed” and “emotional” about disappointing West End audiences, and said it had made him “aware there isn’t much time left.”
Sir Ian came out as gay aged 49 in 1988 and admitted it was a life-changing moment for him.
He told Variety: “Almost overnight everything in my life changed for the better: my relationships with people and my whole attitude towards acting changed.”
Ian admits that coming out had a big impact on his work as an actor.
Sir Ian came out as gay aged 49 in 1988 and admitted it was a life-changing moment (pictured September 2024).
The star explained: “The type of acting I’d been good at had to do with disguise – adopting funny voices and strange walks.”
‘It was about lying to the world. I was no longer in the situation where I was running alongside the character explaining it to the audience. “I just became the character.”
Ian also said that he felt it was difficult for non-gay people to relate to his struggle.
The veteran actor said: “People who aren’t gay just don’t know how much it hurts you to lie about who you are and be ashamed of yourself.”
‘I grew up in a time when it was illegal to have sex with a man. “And that wasn’t that long ago,” he added.