Terrified Ian McKellen, 84, flees plastic surgeon after wrinkle conversation

23 September 2023 , 17:37

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Sir Ian McKellen said he doesn't want to have cosmetic surgery (Image: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock for NTA)

As Gandalf, the heroic wizard in The Lord of the Rings series, Sir Ian McKellen battled orcs and destroyed the Dark Lord.

But it seems the actor is far better at delivering lines than tackling the ones on his face. The 84-year-old told how he was tired of seeing the rings round his eyes and saggins in cheeks – but he recalled running out of a plastic surgeon ’s office in terror when he was told what would happen during a facelift.

Sir Ian said: “My face looks older than it did 40 years ago… so what? I wouldn’t consider surgery. “I did once – I went to see about getting rid of these jowls. The man began telling me what it entailed and said, ‘We cut through this muscle’. I was out of there like a shot.” Millions of fans have watched Sir Ian in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, X-Men movies and on stage, where he has won six Olivier awards.

The actor as Gandalf (Daily Record)

But the star avoids looking at his own face. He said: “Actors have to look in the mirror professionally – I never do so at home. I’ve got used to being the oldest person I know.” The Burnley-born actor, who co-owns a pub, also revealed his

East London home already has a lift “for when my knees give in” and space for a live-in carer. In 2016, Sir Ian spoke out against celebs who have cosmetic procedures. He said: “What’s wrong with a few wrinkles? What are you trying to be? It’s a dreadful sort of ­arrogance to think, ‘I need a little tuck here and I’ll be back to what I was’.

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“Your experience makes you older. If experience is expressed in your face, what’s wrong with that?” Wise words from Gandalf, who looked great but was thousands of years old.

Stian Alexander