Sir Ian McKellen is about to take on his weirdest role yet
Sir Ian McKellen has played a wizard, a magnetic supervillian and a toad – but now the actor is set to play his strangest role yet.
The veteran gay rights campaigne has signed up to play a clock in the new live-action remake of Disney classic Beauty and the Beast.
According to Variety, he will take on the role as Cogsworth the clock – while Harry Potter star Emma Watson will take on the main role of Belle.
In the original animated film, Cogsworth is a butler who has been transformed into a grandfather clock by the curse that afflicted the Beast’s castle.
The new film, which is slated for a March 2017 release, is set to enter production later this year, and will featue a cast including Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad and Emma Thompson.
The actor was previously thought to be departing his role in the X-Men franchise alongside colleague Patrick Stewart, after 15 years playing Magneto.
However, it was recently confirmed he will return in next year’s X-Men: Apocalypse, though Stewart will not.
In addition to regular school visits with Stonewall to combat homophobia, Sir Ian – who was knighted in 1991 – also works on LGBT homelessness with the Albert Kennedy Trust.
Watch a clip from the original film below:
