Ian McKellen says 'Star Wars' icon told him to avoid LGBTQ politics

Ian McKellen doesn't need anyone's permission to stand on his soapbox.

In an interview with The Guardian published May 7, the Oscar-nominated actor revealed that he was allegedly discouraged by fellow actor Alec Guinness from speaking out on LGBTQ rights.

Guinness, who died in 2000, was an acclaimed British actor, best known among sci-fi fans for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

While discussing the "worst piece of advice" he'd ever been given, McKellen recalled an alleged meeting he had with Guinness around the late '80s.

"He took me for an Italian lunch in Pimlico, where we chatted about this and that until he brought up the real reason for his invitation," McKellen, 86, told the British outlet. "He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall – a lobby group to present to the government and the world at large the case for treating U.K. lesbians and gays equally under the law with the rest of the population.

"He thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw. Advice from an older generation, which I didn't follow."

Representatives for Guinness were not available for comment at the time of publication.

McKellen added that he was reminded of his alleged encounter with Guinness while attending a showing of "Two Halves of Guinness," a play inspired by the late actor's life and career.

The show "hints at Sir Alec's latent bisexuality in a way that would have upset him, I suppose," McKellen said.

Guinness married actress and playwright Merula Salaman in 1938. The couple shared a son, actor Matthew Guinness. Past media coverage has speculated about Guinness' sexuality, including a biographical account that said the actor was arrested in 1946 for a "homosexual act in a public lavatory."

McKellen came out as gay in 1988 during an appearance on the BBC Radio show "Third Ear." The following year, he cofounded the LGBTQ rights charity Stonewall.

The "Gods and Monsters" star's activism also includes being a patron of various community initiativies and organizations, such as LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, Gay-Glos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG.

"I have never met anybody who came out who regretted it," McKellen told The Sunday Times in a 2025 interview. "I feel sorry for any famous person who feels they can't come out. Being in the closet is silly — there's no need for it. Don't listen to your advisers, listen to your heart. Listen to your gay friends who know better. Come out. Get into the sunshine."