Sir Ian McKellen, 85, spotted living his best life at London gay club: ‘Everyone was gobsmacked’

The Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen

The Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen has been spotted living his best life at a popular gay club.

Roast, known as “London’s beefiest club night”, reposted photos of the 85-year-old actor posing with two topless men on Saturday (12 October).

One club-goer told the Daily Mail that the actor “was having such a good time soaking up the party atmosphere”, adding: “Everyone was gobsmacked when they spotted him on the dancefloor. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.”

Referring to McKellen’s fall off a West End stage in June, when he fractured his wrist and chipped a vertebrae, the witness to the star’s revelry went on to say: “You would never have guessed that he was in hospital just a few months ago.”

McKellen’s latest film, The Critic, was released in September. He plays a powerful theatre critic in 30s London, who lures a struggling actress into a deadly blackmail scheme. Last month, he told HuffPost: “What I basically enjoy about acting is not being myself. That’s how I judge myself: would I be able to get inside this person [who] doesn’t feel like me?

“Then you discover that you’ve got some things in common with whoever you play, however horrible they may be. I can imagine what it’s like to behave badly, although I try not to behave badly in real life.”

Earlier this year, McKellen starred in Bent director Sean Mathias’ modern take of Hamlet. The pair were in a relationship for 10 years.

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