Verified source brief
Ian McKellen: ‘Of course Gandalf would beat Dumbledore in a fight’
The actor on dealing with disruptive drinkers in his pub, what he’d ask Shakespeare, and being urged by Alec Guinness to withdraw from Stonewall In more than six decades of acting, what has changed the most? eamonmcc My first job, in 1961, was at the Belgrade theatre in Coventry, the first British civic theatre built after the second world war, with public funds and a subsequent Arts Council grant. My weekly wage was £8, enough to pay for my flat, which cost three guineas, and to eat well enough. Every city of similar size had a repertory company, presenting a new production every two weeks, and crucially providing employment for tyro actors in need of a prolonged apprenticeship in the company of senior players. You learned what you could and couldn’t do and what you could aspire to. Today, alas, there is not a single rep company in the UK and no comparable system for training new talent
Source brief
The actor on dealing with disruptive drinkers in his pub, what he’d ask Shakespeare, and being urged by Alec Guinness to withdraw from Stonewall In more than six decades of acting, what has changed the most? eamonmcc My first job, in 1961, was at the Belgrade theatre in Coventry, the first British civic theatre built after the second world war, with public funds and a subsequent Arts Council grant. My weekly wage was £8, enough to pay for my flat, which cost three guineas, and to eat well enough. Every city of similar size had a repertory company, presenting a new production every two weeks, and crucially providing employment for tyro actors in need of a prolonged apprenticeship in the company of senior players. You learned what you could and couldn’t do and what you could aspire to. Today, alas, there is not a single rep company in the UK and no comparable system for training new talent
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This is a source-linked brief from The Guardian. Read the original item at Ian McKellen: ‘Of course Gandalf would beat Dumbledore in a fight’.
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- Published by source: 2026-05-07T12:00:48+00:00
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- Ian McKellen: ‘Of course Gandalf would beat Dumbledore in a fight’The Guardian - 2026-05-07T12:00:48+00:00
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