Acclaimed stage and screen actor Sir Ian McKellen has revealed he used President Donald Trump as unlikely inspiration while filming the new Avengers movie.
McKellen, 87, has had an incredibly diverse career that ranges from Shakespearean dramas to sci-fi blockbusters, with key ongoing roles as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and powerful mutant Magneto in the X-Men franchise.
The English actor stars in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday Marvel universe crossover film, reprising his role as Magneto, alongside Robert Downey Jr., Pedro Pascal, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, and Florence Pugh.
The movie is due for release on Dec. 18 and is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. It is intended to be a sequel to Avengers: Endgame, which made $2.8 billion after its release in 2019, making it the second-highest-grossing film of all time.
During an appearance at an open-air cinema in Rome on Sunday, McKellen gave 2,000 film fans an insight into the much-anticipated new superhero movie, while also sharing his thoughts on President Trump.
Discussing the shooting of one scene where Magneto wreaks havoc with his powers, McKellen told the audience at the Cinema in Piazza festival the Russo Brothers “got me at one point to destroy New Jersey,” according to the Guardian.
Rising from his seat to re-enact the moment for the audience, he explained his MAGA motivation, after being told to get angrier on camera.
He added that the directors “told me to look more furious: `Make it look as if you hate what you’re destroying.’ So I stood there and I shouted `Mar-a-Lago!’”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
McKellen has previously been outspoken about his dislike of Trump. In 2024, ahead of his second presidency, the actor said he found Trump to be “an absolute bewilderment.”
“I haven’t seen him live,” he said, “but he’s one of the worst public speakers there has ever been. Whether he’s reading a script or not, it’s so patent what he is.”
When asked about Trump’s plans to roll back rights for the LGBTQ community in 2017, McKellen said it was “quite unnecessary and very un-American.”
“The gay rights movement began in America, they began in San Francisco, it began in [gay bar] Stonewall, in the city where Donald Trump was born and has thrived, if he’s not aware of the issues I’d be amazed.”
“I can’t follow Mr. Trump,” McKellen added at the time. “He’s a very bad communicator, at least to me. Get more straightforward, Donald. And then we can take you seriously.”
McKellen first played Magneto in 2000’s X-Men. He is about to reprise his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Andy Serkis.
