--- title: Sir Ian McKellen on Coming Out: LGBT description: The actor said coming out not only made him happier, but also a better actor. canonical: https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-02T23:44:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:51:06.426Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Sir Ian McKellen Says He Regrets Not Coming Out 'Much Earlier' og:description: The actor said coming out not only made him happier, but also a better actor og:url: https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b463e7828fc7790/698852b6cd6848ba430a0264/sir-ian-mckellen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sir Ian McKellen attends a Meet The Actor event at the Apple Store in London on May 26, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sir Ian McKellen Says He Regrets Not Coming Out 'Much Earlier' twitter:description: The actor said coming out not only made him happier, but also a better actor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b463e7828fc7790/698852b6cd6848ba430a0264/sir-ian-mckellen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sir Ian McKellen Says He Regrets Not Coming Out 'Much Earlier' > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Megan Daley / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Megan Daley / Entertainment Weekly Jun 2, 2015 11:44 PM UTC  Sir Ian McKellen attends a Meet The Actor event at the Apple Store in London on May 26, 2015. Sir Ian McKellen attends a Meet The Actor event at the Apple Store in London on May 26, 2015.Ian West—AP by [Megan Daley / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Megan Daley / Entertainment Weekly Jun 2, 2015 11:44 PM UTC For Sir Ian McKellen, coming out not only made him happier—it also made him a better actor. In an interview with the [Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/ian-mckellen-trevor-project%5Fn%5F7484700.html?1433271194), the actor discussed the experience of coming out to both his family (“nobody gave a damn!”) as well as the media, saying his emotions became much “freer.” “I think up to that point, I had been using acting as a disguise—somewhere where I could express my emotions, and draw attention to myself in a way that I didn’t particularly want to do in real life,” McKellen told the Huffington Post. “Acting became not about disguise, but about telling the truth. And my emotions became much freer. I was able to act better as I think you are able to do any job. Everyone’s better if they’re being honest.” According to the actor, his film career took off after he came out, citing his role in _Gods and Monsters_ as one of the first to garner public attention. In the film, McKellen played the role of director James Whale, who was gay. “I regret and always shall that I didn’t see the significance of coming out at a much earlier date because I think I would have been a different person and a happier one,” the actor said. “Self-confidence is the most important thing that anybody can have. You don’t have that if part of you is ashamed or hiding something. I can reassure people who don’t feel they’re able to, the world will like you better because people like honesty and authenticity.” According to the publication, McKellen is set to receive the [Trevor Project’](http://www.thetrevorproject.org/)s Trevor Hero Award and will also serve as one of four Grand Marshals during New York City’s Pride celebration later this month. For more on the interview with McKellen, including what advice he would offer to struggling LGBTQ youths, head on over to the [Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/ian-mckellen-trevor-project%5Fn%5F7484700.html?1433271194). _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/02/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-huffington-post) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/"},"headline":"Sir Ian McKellen Says He Regrets Not Coming Out 'Much Earlier'","datePublished":"2015-06-02T23:44:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:51:06.426Z","description":"\"I think I would have been a different person and a happier one\"","url":"https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b463e7828fc7790/698852b6cd6848ba430a0264/sir-ian-mckellen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Daley / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b463e7828fc7790/698852b6cd6848ba430a0264/sir-ian-mckellen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sir Ian McKellen attends a Meet The Actor event at the Apple Store in London on May 26, 2015.","caption":"Sir Ian McKellen attends a Meet The Actor event at the Apple Store in London on May 26, 2015.","creditText":"Ian West—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3906656/sir-ian-mckellen-coming-out-lgbt/","name":"Sir Ian McKellen Says He Regrets Not Coming Out 'Much Earlier'"}}]}] ```