When Virginia meets Ian

The big name stars keep on coming to ABC.

This Sunday night it’s Stephen Fry Live at the Sydney Opera House. Later this month, Sir Ian McKellen is interviewed for In Conversation with Virginia Trioli.

In coming weeks she also talks to singer Marianne Faithfull and visual artists, Gilbert & George.

“Why was I so keen to put on false noses, and to put on wigs and makeup?” offers McKellen. “It was because I knew what other people didn’t, that I was gay. Well luckily I landed upon the one job where I was allowed to indulge my emotions and present them through the characters that I was pretending to be. But it was only when I came out, aged 49, when at last I was brave enough to say, well I am who I am, that my acting freed up. My emotions now are bubbling up near the surface where they belong.”

One of the great Shakespearean actors, McKellen also shares his thoughts on the merits of reading the Bard’s works as opposed to experiencing his plays in the theatre. “I’ve never much enjoyed reading Shakespeare, and he didn’t want his plays to be read. It’s only in the theatre that Shakespeare can really come alive. It’s a bit like saying Mozart’s a great composer, here’s the proof, here’s some notations on a bit of paper.”

Peppered with stage and screen archive, this program offers illuminating insights into a man who, at the age of 70, is ever the enthusiast about the craft of acting.

Artscape: In Conversation with Virginia Trioli airs 10:05pm Tuesday October 10 on ABC1.