STAGE : Sir Ian's Csa : McKellen, hailed for his portrayal of Richard III, discs his craft and his views as 'the first openly gay man to be knighted' - Los Angel Tim

Contents:

• STAGE : SIR IAN’S CSA : MCKELLEN, HAILED FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF RICHARD III, DISCS HIS CRAFT AND HIS VIEWS AS ‘THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN TO BE KNIGHTED’
• SIR IAN MCKELLEN WAS ‘GLAD’ THE WORLD KNEW HE WAS GAY BEFORE KNIGHTHOOD
• WHO WAS KARL HERICH ULRICHS? MEET THE FIRST MAN TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• WHO WAS THE FIRST GAY MAN KNIGHTED?

STAGE : SIR IAN’S CSA : MCKELLEN, HAILED FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF RICHARD III, DISCS HIS CRAFT AND HIS VIEWS AS ‘THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN TO BE KNIGHTED’

Yet the 53-year-old Englishman turns down few terviews or appearanc bee supersedg any personal disfort is his need to promote both the Natnal Theatre and, equally important, gay found his heart San Francis, he says here more than once. It was Mp he lled a few months later after acknowledgg his homosexualy durg a BBC rad bate over anti-gay legislatn, and the msage he left on Mp’s answerg mache was a simple one: “I’m out and about and I’ve never been happier.

Three mut to an eight-mute “Tonight Show” appearance, he lled himself “the first openly gay man to be knighted, ” and even a fund-raisg appearance he ma here for the San Francis Shakpeare Ftival and the Natnal Theatre clud a reference to gay rights. He was the ma speaker at a prs nference Denver to prott anti-gay legislatn Colorado, and he received a human rights award durg the show’s Washgton, D.

SIR IAN MCKELLEN WAS ‘GLAD’ THE WORLD KNEW HE WAS GAY BEFORE KNIGHTHOOD

How have dienc and crics renciled this wh your high profile as a gay activist? I thk the mature attu toward homosexuals show bs is for the employer to say, “Is this person beg nvcg his part?

If I’m missg out on parts bee I’m gay and had them the past, I wouldn’t always know about . *Q: You’ve spoken before of the ironi for gay actors terms of social nformy. But if that pretense is gog to work, the character has to be absolutely rooted the imagatn and experience of the for a closeted gay to be an actor is a rather ngenial suatn.

WHO WAS KARL HERICH ULRICHS? MEET THE FIRST MAN TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

He n disguise the fact he is gay, which is what society is enuragg him to do, but at the same time he n have an emotnal release, g the absolute honty of his own feelgs wh the performance. At the same time the public is sayg, “Don’t tell me about yourself, I don’t want to know, ” the gay actor go out and tells society everythg and yet disguis .

So I have been able on ocsn to talk to very senr policians (cludg Prime Mister John Major) about gay very distguished gays have been given tl of one sort or another, but they were always publicly the closet. And the monplace that if you are openly gay you are somehow gog to rtrict your abily to do your job the way you want to do is given the lie by this honor-- my particular se.

I’m still well aware that other areas of Brish society-- tn, medice, the legal profsns and ed polics--to be openly gay is simply not allowed. *Q: You have bee very visible terms of gay activism Bra.

WHO WAS THE FIRST GAY MAN KNIGHTED?

Is there a difference between gay activism there and here? A: In this untry, when you’re talkg about gay activism, people assume you’re talkg about AIDS.

In Bra, bee of the Natnal Health Service, the issue of fundg for AIDS is ls ccial than is here (so) when you are talkg gay issu, ’s thought to be que separate. Perhaps for that reason, ’s ls easy to get people outsi the gay populatn (challengg) what we nsir to be nsirable jtic the legal system. The actor said g out publicly was ‘the bt thg I ever did my life’ (Picture: Wire Image)Sir Ian McKellen has reflected on beg knighted 1991, revealg that he was ‘glad’ he waed until publicly g out as gay the late 1980s before acceptg the honour.

I’ve never met a gay person who regretted g out – cludg myself. Today is the 30th anniversary of the BBC rad discsn when I publilly said I was gay.