One thing Middle-earth is short on is the feminine.

No one seems to wash in Middle-earth.

In the past, kids didn't tell their parents they were gay, so there were never the bust-ups. Some parents react so strongly to the news that their children are gay that the reaction is, 'Get out of our house.' There's a residue of old prejudices that are going to die hard.

Gandalf is in Middle-earth to keep an eye on everybody, and that can be a rather serious matter.

Gandalf the Grey was always the guy I prefer. Gandalf the White was driven to do a particular job, whereas Gandalf the Grey is a bit more humane.

Thanks to every gay person in public and non-public life who has come out.

When I've been asked what should be on my gravestone, I've said: 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out.' Two big achievements.

The conventional wisdom is that if you are gay, you cannot play the romantic straight lead in a movie.

There are still times in my life where I pull back from being totally honest, and I can't imagine a single straight person who would understand that.

There are some tremendous actors in the U.K. who have been knighted, and I've spent much of my life admiring many of them, like Laurence Olivier. So it's very flattering to be in their company.

There are people who've enjoyed my work in the theater, and they let me know that it was special for them. I'm not going to say, 'Well, you should have seen me as Gandalf!'

Because I was in the business of translating the 'X-Men' from the very successful comics, and taking the most popular book of the 20th century in 'The Lord of the Rings,' and making it into three movies, I hope people realize I wouldn't get involved in anything I didn't think was really going to be worth their while.

To be allowed for the first time in your later career to play leading parts in extremely popular movies is not a situation to worry about.

I learned that coming out was crucial to self-esteem.

Anyone in public life who comes out, comes out primarily for themselves, and their life is immediately improved. That's what happened to me.

Anyone who thinks Peter Jackson would fall for market forces around him rather than artistic integrity doesn't know the guy or the body of his work.

If we just made one movie, 'The Hobbit,' the fact is that all the fans, the eight-, nine- and 10-year-old boys, they would watch it 1,000 times. Now, they've got three films they can watch 1,000 times.

One school invited me down, as two pupils had come out, and the headmaster didn't know what to do about it. I said, 'How many students here are gay?' and he said, 'Just these two.' Clearly not. 'How many gay members of staff have you got?' He had no idea. And this was a concerned man.

Establishing the rights for gay people to be married would cost the Australian government nothing financially and would gain for you worldwide respect from people like us and, of course, would change lives enormously - the lives of gay people and of their friends and of their families and therefore of Australia as a whole.

My own death threats have declined considerably.

The BAFTAs give the British point of view, and the Oscars give the American point of view, but the truth is we're all working in an international industry.

I can't make up my mind whether I want to dance like Josef Brown or dance with Josef Brown.

Why not celebrate those who want to marry and bring up a family?

I certainly wouldn't define myself as a northerner. I'm not even really sure what that means. I've lived in London for 50 years. I wasn't born here, but I have spent most of my life here. So I don't make much of it, to be honest. I'm just myself.

When I appeared in 'Coronation Street,' I lived in Manchester and enjoyed it very much.

Bolton School has a great tradition in the liberal arts.

I think with Shakespeare you can be required to do absolutely anything at the turn of a sixpence - suddenly you go into a battle, suddenly you utter something passionate.

I always walk up the escalator on the Tube, and I live in a house with a lot of stairs, and that's good exercise, but you need more than that.

It is really, really wonderful that in your old age you are protected by specialists who understand your problems and sort them out for you. Well, isn't that what we all need?

Capitalism offers you freedom, but far from giving people freedom, it enslaves them.

Gandalf is ever-present in my life. I like it.

It's nice for me to be in touch with a younger generation.

The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them.

I'll never put my memoirs in print.

Eventually, before I die, I hope to have written about every part I've played.

There's something wholesome about the theatre.

Most actors are not rich - they are very poor indeed. What keeps them going is that they just love the job.

I know actors who have had to turn down good roles because they just don't pay enough. It's hard.

The one thing you can ask, I think, is that actors get paid a living wage. I would like it if all the repertory theatres that currently exist could do that. It would make a huge difference.

Who does understand life?

Gandalf's a good guy, and it's a good part. He says the right things, he believes the right things. An actor can have fun with it.

There's lots of Tolkien that must be confusing to people.

Even now, there are young actors who want careers as romantic leading men, and the best thing is not to reveal you're gay.

I remember Tom Stoppard saying to me when I came out, 'I feel so sorry for you, because you'll never have children.' These days I would say, 'Well, why not, Tom?'

You might be surprised by how interested young people are in older people.

People who are truly horrible are often the most interesting people in the room. You look at them and just say, 'Why?'

Will I miss Gandalf? Well, I don't miss him, because people are constantly coming up to me mentioning him and talking about him, so I don't feel that I've lost contact.

Every time you work is a challenge. There's a constant worry about it, and it's a side of acting I don't like.

In the U.K. there is still work to be done, particularly in schools, stopping the homophobic bullies in the playground and introducing unbiased discussion on gay issues in the classroom.

I just followed my parents' example and advice on living, which was to leave the world a better place than you found it. They were professional do-gooders, ministers of the church, social workers, teachers, and missionaries, that sort of thing.