Sometimes opportunity knocks not just once but twice, and British actor Sir Ian McKellen did not hesitate in opening the doors for some of the best roles in his acting career.
During an interview with PEOPLE, McKellen revealed that he was initially offered a role in "Mission: Impossible II" with Tom Cruise, and he was eager to work on it save for the fact that he did not have the complete script because producers deemed it extremely confidential.
"They wouldn't let me see the whole script because I might have spilled the beans. I only got my scenes," he shared. "Well, I couldn't judge from reading just those scenes what the script was like. So I said no. And my agent said, 'You can't say no to working with Tom Cruise!' and I said, 'I think I will.'"
McKellen did not have any time to reflect whether or not he made the right decision turning down the said role in the successful spy action franchise, since the very next day, he got a call from two talented directors - Bryan Singer and Peter Jackson.
Singer wanted McKellen to play Magneto in the "X-Men" films while Jackson wanted him for the role of Gandalf the wise in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The actor already knew that both were great roles, so he said yes to both.
"It's ridiculous that I've gotten to play both Gandalf and Magneto," he admitted. But the actor almost had trouble committing to his role as Gandalf if Singer did not make all the necessary adjustments for him.
"Bryan Singer's first X-Men overran its preparation. It had to delay, delay, delay, delay. So I had to call up Peter Jackson and say, "I'm sorry. I can't play Gandalf because X-Men, which I agreed to do first, is overrunning," he shared.
Jackson was understanding about McKellen's situation and offered to keep the role open for him whatever happens. So McKellen then discussed the issue with Singer, and the "X-Men" director told him, "Well, you must do Gandalf. I'll make sure you get out in time."
In the end, McKellen managed to do both roles - with three days left to spare.
"Mission: Impossible II," on the other hand, was put off for a long period of time, and McKellen mulled that if he decided to commit to it, then he would not have been Magneto in "X-Men" or Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings," and that would have been a huge mistake.
"It's all about luck - being there at the right time and ready for it," he said. "You can't prepare for luck. I've learned that you've got to be ready for the luck when it arrives, but you're going to need the luck."
