Sir Ian McKellen Opens Up About Coming Out and Falling in Love in 'It Got Better' Docuseries

The 76-year-old actor says his life 'totally changed for the better' after he revealed his sexuality.

[@karenknicely7779]

Gay or straight, I don't care. He is a most wonderful person! And a most remarkable and talented actor!

[@Love.Protagonist]

a true living hero thank you for all of the things you've done to support basic human rights it would never be forgotten

[@godlyblessedliibaangodisgo4394]

^^❤

[@37Dionysos]

Thank you! What a great statement---"Once you are honest, you feel better...."

[@user-pg8rc8kf9m]

His sexuality doesn’t change my opinion that he is an amazingly talented actor, a hilarious person and a true treasure to have on this planet

[@48Mooky]

Beautifully spoken and I have so many positive feelings for this wonderful man! He makes me feel so happy in this "it gets better"! NOH8! Only love! xoxox :)

[@queendeirdre7436]

It's 2019 I'm the very proud mother of a Transgender son! 🇮🇪

[@queendeirdre7436]

I assume you are referring to yourself. I pity you your ignorance 😔

[@thelastjedi3259]

@Tory Shaye She proud of the fact that she has a son who's accepted himself instead of hating himself which is good. There's so much to be proud of, proud of him proud of herself and I frankly am happy for both of them, Tory Shaye, why do you have to be this way? Why do you dislike people who think they're either a girl or a boy? Or do you like transgender people and are you just trolling?

[@thelastjedi3259]

I'm so happy for both of you :) for someone to accept themselves is to be at peace with themselves. :)

[@thelastjedi3259]

@Tory Shaye Hormone injections don't hurt people they stop the either male or female hormones in the system working, it's how people transition from either female to male or male to female.

[@thelastjedi3259]

@Tory Shaye It very much is at peace thank you, because they that they're making the right decisions for themselves,

[@Joggi98]

His father looks like the lovechild of Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry xD

[@indubren]

I'm an adult now and hearing this, having grown up in catholic school, matters a lot

[@hayprofilms]

What a stunning interview, thank you.

[@ChiniWanders]

Love his accent! I've met a couple of Brits with different kinds of accents but this man's is sophisticated. Feel free to correct me but he has that royal accent.

[@bettycoffey671]

it depends where you live in England. it's just like America.

[@bettycoffey671]

btw... he's lucky he still has his accent. brits living in America lose quite a bit of it.

[@plastic_cleopatra]

He's very posh but very comedic too!

[@plastic_cleopatra]

@Marten Dekker he's not a royal, but he definitely sat on the throne.

[@anonymous2092]

His accent is actually effectuated, he naturally has a northern accent but had to change it for drama school when he was young He talks about it in his Desert Island Discs

[@jojo-zt7eo]

Sometimes, a person comes out and everything goes wrong. I lost everything. I have seen so many wonderful stories about coming out. I wish I had kept it a secret. Not looking for sympathy, but there are instances when you are left all alone. Has this happened to anyone else?

[@dr.history3567]

You have us, our chosen family and uncle Ian will make things better.

[@themagnificentsteiner8600]

That is sad... but do you really want to stay with people that small minded?

[@LM-mr3fd]

@jo jo I'm so sorry for what you have experienced. As a straight person, I can only imagine how challenging it would be to come out and then have people basically abandon you. You DO NOT deserve to be alone. Perhaps, in the future, those that couldn't cope with your truth will wake up and realize that loving someone should be unconditional. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if those people still care and love you very much. It is their own issues that are keeping them from showing you that love. Sadly, there are likely many people out there who have had similar coming out experiences...so you are definitely not alone in that regard. You are also not alone in other ways. There are people all around the world, me included, who don't even know you but care about you and have love for you. You can make your own family by choosing people who accept you and love you no matter what. You are worthy of love, so don't ever forget that. I don't know what your personal beliefs are but I happen to believe that God is with us all and loves us all, making it impossible for us to truly ever be alone. I wish you well and I thank you for sharing your experience. I am sure that many others can relate. Never give up and always remember that no matter what YOU ARE LOVED. God bless

[@jofez27]

Sorry to hear yours wasn't a good coming out. The good thing is that there's many resources out there to help you theough your loneliness. There's actually more stories related to yours then the ones that are good coming out stories. I came out 14 years ago and was alone. After years of therapy, mistakes and going out of my comfort zone to learn this part of me, I'm finally happy and it was worth the going through the pain, looking back at it. Believe that your life will be better and be proud of yourself for coming out. The right people will come to you if you're willing to better yourself and your situation. It all starts with believing things will be better and then take actions to make them better. Take control of yourself. Things will be up and down. When the downs happens, don't give up. Pick yourself up and keep moving forward, one baby step at a time. Wishing you the best. Xoxo

[@IngemoH]

Ellen Degeneres. But she came back big time. Build a new chosen crowd.

[@Crucent]

He is just a good person, and I wish him truly all the best he can have in life. He deserves all of it.

[@chetwilliams7658]

Ian is a WONDERFUL PERSON AND EXAMPLE TO ALL!!! Thank you Ian.

[@hayprofilms]

What a beautiful speaker.

[@jondishmonmusicandstuff2753]

Ian was handsome back in the day.

[@brandontan5700]

Still is

[@themagnificentsteiner8600]

@@brandontan5700 Indeed

[@maddog7795]

still is cute

[@georginalight4495]

Sir Ian i love you in all your movies, and now i am even more amazed at your honesty and strength of being a gay man. More people should be as brav e🦋❤🙏

[@gothamhandley9867]

Ian- we LOVE YOU ! You are by far, one of my all time favorite thesbians ! You have such a classy richness about you that permeates every single role you envelope !

[@godlyblessedliibaangodisgo4394]

Thank You God❤Thank You Sir IanMckellen and E.N

[@koenigkorczak]

It's important to me to have gay role models like Sir Ian McKellen :)

[@draxquirnon6809]

Wow! Looks great!

[@Millennial_Mike]

Such a wonderful man x

[@VenusEvan_1885]

Sir Ian McKellen you're the best and a very talented actor, everybody loves you 💕

[@IngemoH]

I adore Sir Ian McKellen!

[@englishrose1957]

he is so great!!

[@craigparham7992]

Brilliant Actor - descent human being

[@abdelhafidelghazy8080]

still see you as gandalf. and always will

[@mapanagua]

"You cant live it covered" absolutely true Sir, and BTW, I have a crush on you Sir...!!!

[@thebellaluna]

Bravo, Sir Ian! 👍👍👍

[@dr.history3567]

I want to meet the great sir ian mckellen.

[@elainaworsley470]

Gay who cares people are who they are. He is a pure genius as an actor. The timing in his comedy rolls is always spot on. and one of my very favourite programs was Visious. I felt so sad when it finished. Yes, this gentleman is a true British star. ❤

[@jojoh265]

Wow he was really good looking when he was young

[@dr.history3567]

He still is.

[@tonymanfredi6844]

@@dr.history3567 yes he has aged rather gracefully.

[@jennahcollings1174]

He's so lovely.

[@stevenkies802]

Margret Thatcher continues to disappoint.

[@daniellemusella1594]

I never knew Ian was gay, until he discussed it during the press tour for "X-Men: Days of Future Past". It didn't phase me at all. I thought, "Huh. Okay. Cool. Whatever." He's hilarious and sweet, and from what I've seen, he's also a shameless flirt.

[@Calinks]

Holy cow! He looks A LOT like his dad. Sheesh

[@anonymous.2660]

Word is hard

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

It is not difficult to relate to what Sir Ian shared in this context, regarding the inability to tell when you are talking to a fellow gay. It was not something I could explore myself, having discovered myself to be gay during high school. I tried to suppress it in my early 20s, but I realized it was for all the wrong reasons. I would be amiss to deny that I owe much of what I’ve discovered since then to the example of people like Sir Ian McKellen. The danger zone for me is that, some of the people that I associate it with when I tried concealing my orientation even from myself were people who are fans of Sir Ian’s work but anti-gay.

[@IsisFlavia]

People don't realise how insidious section 28 was. It meant that kids who were being terrorised and persecuted for their sexuality would be refused help and protection in school because to do so could be construed as promotion of homosexually. Vicious and unnecessary law.

[@naly202]

I dont know what it is about this man that i find both annoying and fascinating. He certainly is a character that you cant miss in a room full of people. He stands out from the crowd. Somehow. And he would stand out even if he weren't famous.

[@MisterCatMan]

Gandalf The Gay

[@alexangels]

Now we know what really happened to professor X😐

[@MikeyJoJo6385]

He's Magneto

[@jojoh265]

Don't you go and get Patrick Stewart into this