'I said no to working with Tom Cruise!': Sir Ian McKellen reveals he turned down Mission Impossible role to play X-Men's Magneto and Lord of the Rings' Gandalf

By Daniel Bates and Jj Nattrass For Mailonline

Published: 15:36 EST, 20 July 2015 | Updated: 17:09 EST, 20 July 2015

He's famous for leading Hobbits astray and starting a mutant revolution on the big screen, but Sir Ian McKellen very nearly turned down his career-defining roles as Gandalf and Magneto to work with Tom Cruise.

The 76-year-old actor, who shot to global fame for his roles in Lord Of The Rings and X-Men franchises, recently revealed that he horrified his agent by turning down an offer to star in Mission Impossible 2.

The veteran star revealed that when he decided to turn down the role opposite the Jerry Maguire actor, his flabbergasted agent told him: 'You can't say no to working with Tom Cruise!'

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Successful mission? Sir Ian McKellen, who shot to global fame for his roles in Lord Of The Rings and X-Men franchises, has revealed that he horrified his agent by turning down an offer to star in Mission Impossible 2

Successful mission? Sir Ian McKellen, who shot to global fame for his roles in Lord Of The Rings and X-Men franchises, has revealed that he horrified his agent by turning down an offer to star in Mission Impossible 2

In an interview with People magazine while promoting his latest film, Mr Holmes, the English actor revealed how his career could have been so different.

After rebuffing his agent's pleas to take the unknown role in MI:2 in the late 90s, Sir Ian was offered the starring role of the master of magnetism, Magneto, in the X-Men films.

While he was firmly in the picture to land a role in the hotly-anticipated follow-up to 1996's Mission Impossible, the actor revealed that he turned down the role because the studio refused to let him read the whole script.

In case of a leak the actor, who also played Gandalf, was only given certain scenes to read, and so he explained: 'I couldn't judge from reading just those scenes what the script was like, so I said no.'

Dumped: The 76-year-old actor revealed that when he decided to turn down the role opposite Tom Cruise (pictured) his flabbergasted agent told him: '‘You can’t say no to working with Tom Cruise!’

Dumped: The 76-year-old actor revealed that when he decided to turn down the role opposite Tom Cruise (pictured) his flabbergasted agent told him: ''You can't say no to working with Tom Cruise!'

A series of fortunate events: After rebuffing his agent's pleas to take the unknown role in MI:2 in the late 90s, Sir Ian was offered the starring role of the master of magnetism, Magneto, in the X-Men films

A series of fortunate events: After rebuffing his agent's pleas to take the unknown role in MI:2 in the late 90s, Sir Ian was offered the starring role of the master of magnetism, Magneto, in the X-Men films

Despite the film being a huge movie for Paramount Pictures, director John Woo, and leading man Cruise, Sir Ian made possibly the best choice of his career.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing from the scarlet cape of Magneto to that of Gandalf The grey's threadbare cloak.  

As when Peter Jackson approached him to play the death-defying wizard, he initially greeted the director with bad news.

Phoning Jackson when filming for the Marvel movie overran, he said: 'I'm sorry. I can't play Gandalf because X-Men, which I agreed to do first, is overrunning.'

Gandalf is go! A crisis while filming X-Men meant that he originally turned down the role of Gandalf because he was still at work on X-Men, but Peter Jackson kept the role open for Sir Ian

Gandalf is go! A crisis while filming X-Men meant that he originally turned down the role of Gandalf because he was still at work on X-Men, but Peter Jackson kept the role open for Sir Ian

But with Jackson keeping the role free for him, X-Men director Brian Singer empathised with his situation, saying: 'Well, you must do Gandalf. I'll make sure you get out in time'.

In the end Sir Ian's filming on X-Men finished with just three days to go before he was due on the set of Lord of the Rings in his role as the wise wizard - a role he went on to reprise in the blockbuster The Hobbit trilogy.

Meanwhile Mission Impossible 2 was repeatedly delayed, meaning that if Sir Ian had taken the part then he would not have been able to do anything else.

The actor admitted that he was lucky in the way that events unfolded, but it leaves fans with the question, if not Sir Ian then who? 

Mission almost impossible: M:I-2 was repeatedly delayed, meaning that if Sir Ian had taken the part then he would not have been able to do anything else

Mission almost impossible: M:I-2 was repeatedly delayed, meaning that if Sir Ian had taken the part then he would not have been able to do anything else

Best of friends: And of course taking the role in Tom's film would have meant he would never have starred opposite his now BFF, Patrick Stewart

Best of friends: And of course taking the role in Tom's film would have meant he would never have starred opposite his now BFF, Patrick Stewart

 

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