McKellen talks Gandalf vs. Dumbledore
Sir Ian McKellen was recently interviewed by The Guardian where amongst other things he discusses Dumbledore vs. Gandalf, the character who he played in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.McKellen says that while he and Michael Gambon are close friends, the topic of "how to play a wizard" has never come up. And as far as if he would have taken over the role of Dumbledore from the late Richard Harris, McKellen said:
"People say to me, don't you wish you'd played Dumbledore? I say no! I played Gandalf! The original. There was a question as to whether I might take over from Richard Harris [Gambon's predecessor in the Dumbledore role], but seeing as one of the last things he did publicly was say what a dreadful actor he thought I was, it would not have been appropriate for me to take over his part." He smiles icily. "It would have been unfair."
When asked who would win the battle between Dumbledore and Gandalf, McKellen never hesitated, "Gandalf. Of course."
Posted by Micah on Nov 24th |
364 Comments


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honeydukes? hellooooo? did you leave?
helloooo...sorry moony...i was up on the 2nd post! see ya back up there!
This is the moonlit post right? Moony are you here yet? ps. i have to go soon!
hello peoples! *brings out 3 bean bags and a plate of cookies*
*snags beanbag* let us commence! oh, and guys, don't forget to wish marisa a very happy cheesecake filled birthday.
Ah...alas...it might have to be 3...no wait, reserve that one for me moony! I've gotta go for now, but I'll try to get back later!! :) bye!
so...who all is here? just me and moony?
bye honey! *sets 'reserved for honey' sign on beanbag.* i think snapefever might be coming *bring out more beanbags*
*grabs cookie and begins snacking* so, moony, wassup?
hey moonshine good cookies wups
well, nothing really. its been a very boring weekend for me. thanksgiving was good tho. :D but all day ive just sat around and talked on mugglenet.
hey snape! whats shakin?
hi snape! *pulls up beanbag chair* have a seat!
nothing much thanks for the seat just staying up late cuz i ahve no school tom
lucky! whyever not?
yoohoo? anyone here?
lets just say my school is very kind then sometime during december i have christmas vacatoin and i think thats long too idk lucky u u dont have too be with 3 other sister and one brother for the whole week that we have off
idk, any kind of long vacation sounds good to me. but, then again, i only have one older sister, and she avoids the house as much as possible, so i can't really say.
i dont want to go to school....urgh. all those spoiled richkid preppy girls there. "LIKE OMG LOOK AT MY LIKE NEW JUICY COURTURE PURSE AND MATCHING SHOES!!!!!" urgh they are so annoying!!!!!!
yeah well my older sister is a musician(she plays the clarinet)and she has the schools band the outside of school and then she has districts she drives me nutty im like when r u going to listen to something real then the younger ones r annoying and when my mom up at the barn and i have to watch younger siblings its annoying
so...*awkward silence* who likes whataburger?
moony, i know what you mean. one of the girls i know had a meltdown in LA over her parents not buying her Uggs. The deal was top 5=getting uggs. She got 43rd. And, she was parading around the store in these ***$800*** dollar flats, and her mom said "when hell freezes over". then her mom asked for the salesmans card. then the girl leaned over and said "maybe i'm getting them for my birthday". you know what I got for MY birthday? a book and a wand. $35 total. not $800 dollar SHOES! okay, rant now over.
my sister is a crazy good singer, and she's freaking out over a scholarship to NAU right now, i swear, if I hear "I Loved" one more time, I'm going to kill someone.
i have this one girl in my class she feels shes special because her father owns a limo company and she can get anything she wants as long as she behaves and im just like yeah and like ummmm thats cool and im just ignoring her and paying attentoin in class its annoying ummm got to go rents r telling me to get off tell tell acid or honey that i said hi
ok bye snape! theres one girl at our school. in 7th grade and she has an IPHONE! can you believe that?
hey guys i gotta go to bed! goodnight!
au revoir snape! moony - ohmerlin! your kidding me! i get a cell phone when i'm in high school. it probably won't even have a camera. not that i'm complaining, i just wish kids weren't so SPOILED. the girl i just ranted about has an iPod mini, a shuffle, AND the new video. why she needs a shuffle when she has a mini and video, i have no idea. lord knows she does brag about it enough. i just had a brainblast! i could carry around a nerf bat and hit annoying people on the head...
Oh..bye Fever, Moony, and Allie! Just wanted to drop in real quick...Have a great day guys...Just a heads up, I might not be on tmrw...:(...if you have my email, email me! If you don't, you can get it from Danny or Loverz or someboyd...Bye and sleep well!! Love HoneyBuns/Bee/BunchesOfOa t ~ HoNeY ^^
buh bye you guys! i must go get some sleep. ick, school tommorow. the email is allie_is_treble@msn.com. i'll try and get on tommorow, but not a good chance of it. night!
Michael Gambon might be a great actor in other movies but most definatly NOT as Dumbledore! I cringe every time that man is on screen! I long for Richard Harris and Ian McKellon IS Gandalf so wishful thinking there. My vote is Gandalf all the way because the new embodiment of Dumbledore is too busy preening to put up a good fight!
Gambon sucks ass. Sir McKellen would have been waaayy better.
The ORIGNAL who is he kidding! What about Merlin! Did not think about him, did he? I do say I liked Harris better but I don't mind Gambon. But I love Gandalf, but if it is a match between the two it could only be DUMBLEDORE!
What most people fail to notice about Gandalf is that he is not a human and therefore in no way can be compared to Dumbledore. Gandalf is Istari, which is equivalent to a demi-god in Tolkien's world. He did not die, he went back to the place he had come from and was sent back because he was not finished with his mission on middle earth. Dumbledore is a great man and a great wizard but Gandalf is much more powerful. However, these two are not on even playing fields.
Although I still maintain that Gandalf would win, I have to say that I in no way endorse what willyweasley800 said about 'Dumbledore the Gay.' Sexuality to me has absolutely no bearing on what powers the two might have, and although I personally feel Gandalf is much stronger and a better wizard, I feel extremely emotionally attached to Dumbledore as well, and think that willyweasley is quite aptly named, actually. I'd be a member of the D.A if I went to Hogwarts. It is quite simply to do with the fact that Gandalf is more powerful than almost anyone.
haha, loved his last comment. can't understand why harris would call him a bad actor, anyway. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore would own Gandalf, and Ian mcKellen would own both Gambon and Harris as Dumbledore.
Richard Harris was an amazing Dumbledore, but definitely not an amazing person if he's going around and bashing other actors. Ian McKellen would have been a perfect replacement, and perhaps if Harris weren't so rude, we might've gotten somebody better as the beloved headmaster... because i'm pretty sure that Gambon is the EXACT opposite of what Dumbledore is supposed to be.
from someone who has read both LOTR and HP, i'd have to say Gandalf would totally win. as much as i LOVE HP, it cannot compare to Tolkein's genius
Yeah, Gambon is a rubbish Dumbledore. He was much too violent. I cringed in the fourth film when he bursts in, grabs Harry by the collar and shouts, 'Harry Potter, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?' That's just not Dumbledore's way. He's calm and compassionate, not a violent, erratic fool.
I definitely think Gandalf would win, and I haven't even read RotK yet! (long story...) I think most of the people posting "OH HE'S SO STUPID! DUMBLEDORE PWNS!!!" haven't read LotR, so they can't compare.
SPEW, have you seen the LoTR trilogy movies?
LOL id like to see a mortal take on one of the maiar, come on, dumbledore let himself die like such a puss. hed get his head knocked in taking on a competent wizard.
While I agree with you on some counts, Grnd3lW4Ld, your manner of delivery appalls me. Dumbledore is not a 'puss.' He just happens to be human. Gandalf isn't, he is a transcendent being, capable of more in his lifetime than Dumbledore ever could do. Dumbledore, for his time and his place, is fabulous, but he is in an entirely different setting, so really, it's not very fair. I know Gandalf would win, but as I have said and will continue to say, I still love Dumbledore. I think even Rowling would admit it, she ain't got nothing on Tolkien.
xOphoeniXfeath3r i also agree with u jk rowling does describe the different objects in her books very well and i personly thought it she did a better job than tolken , but both are some of my favorite authors and i usually dont take sides
I've seen the first and second ones, but not the third, and I only watched them after I'd read the books. I'm as careful about spoilers for LotR as for HP!!! (although it's harder ... :-( -Why?
Hey yall!!
I just do not think Rowling's description is good; her concepts and depictions of characters are excellent, but Tolkien's use of language can only be second to none.
hey remi
Hi REMI! are the other's coming omg Bones is on tonight to!
NO way bones is on tonight... *runs to remote flicks throught channels*
hi cheesecakes! I kind of think we should move back up; there's still a convo going on here...
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