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Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen is urging members of the LGBTQ+ community to come out in an interview with the Times of London published on March 9. McKellen, while talking about being in the closet, says,
"I have never met anybody who came out who regretted it. I feel sorry for any famous person who feels they can't come out. Being in the closet is silly - there's no need for it."
He then advised,
"Don't listen to your advisers, listen to your heart. Listen to your gay friends who know better. Come out. Get into the sunshine."
The veteran actor came out as gay back in 1988 in a radio interview with BBC before he went to co-found an LGBTQ right charity in the U.K. called Stonewall. At the time, the UK had a law, Section 28, which prohibited local authorities in Scotland, Wales, and England from "promoting homosexuality." Ian McKellen's Stonewell led a successful campaign to repeal the law.
"I cannot tell you the number of young actors I know" - says Ian McKellen
While talking about coming out as a famous person, Ian McKellen noted that he does not know an openly gay Oscar winner for best actor and mentioned that there has never been an openly gay U.K. prime minister or Premier League soccer player. Ian McKellen also mentioned that there are far more benefits than risks of coming out for actors.
"I cannot tell you the number of young actors I know - some well known, some starting out - who are terrified their s**uality will be revealed and that it will stand in the way of their being cast in straight roles. Now that's f***ed up...I can think of at least four actors absolutely hiding their s**uality.
In September 2023, the veteran actor spoke to Variety about how his coming out impacted his career. The actor mentioned that "almost overnight everything" in his life changed for the better. He added that his relationships with people and his attitude towards acting had changed.
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He recalled his decision to come out in an article he wrote for Capital Gay magazine in December 1988, which is archived on his website, and mentioned that many people in his private life already knew about his se**uality before he openly came out.
He also added that coming out was a spur-of-the-moment decision while they were debating UK's laws on the radio show.
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