Watch Sir Ian McKellen Tell Students What Happens If They Don’t Study

Updated Oct. 20, 10:30 a.m. ET

Sir Ian McKellen — who has earned a reputation of late for showing up in random places and doing awesome things (typically with his pal and sometimes co-star Patrick Stewart) — stopped by the Chew Valley School in England today and addressed the assembled masses. Instead of rambling on as school speakers tend to do, McKellen simply stood by a window and asked, “If you don’t do your revision properly, do you know what will happen?” After waiting a beat, the Lord of the Rings star summoned his best Gandalf impersonation and bellowed, “You. Shall. Not. Pass!” (Sidenote: Is it still an impersonation if you’re impersonating a character that you yourself originated?)

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Anyhow, it’s entirely unclear why exactly McKellen was at the school, but any excuse for him to belt out iconic declarations from Lord of the Rings in front of a bunch of giddy British schoolchildren is a good one.

Update: According to the Chew Valley School website, “The visit was a celebration of the tremendous work the Equalities Team have been doing for more than a year now in promoting human rights, opposing bullying and in particular challenging homophobic language and behaviour in school.” McKellen confirmed the purpose of his visit on Twitter.