He was able to bring real weight and gravitas to even his most mainstream franchise roles, including Gandalf and Magneto in the X-Men franchise. The idea that McKellen is a 'passionless' actor is patently ridiculous. Take a look at this photo comparing the two of them:

'Sometimes, when I see the posters of Mike Gambon, the actor who gloriously plays Dumbledore, I think sometimes it is me.' When the program's host asked if that meant McKellen could have played Dumbledore, and the actor responded: I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I'd known didn't approve of me.'

I worked out what they were thinking, and I couldn't.

However, despite turning down the role, it sounds as though McKellen occasionally wonders what could have been if he had decided to portray the iconic character.'When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the Harry Potter films, they didn't say in what part. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in 2004, one year after the release of the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. WATCH: Best Bromance Ever! Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Kiss at 'Mr. McKellen's explanation was in response to a comment Harris made years ago in which he criticized McKellen - as well as actors Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi - for being 'technically brilliant but passionless.' 'I worked out what they were thinking, and I couldn't… I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I'd known didn't approve of me.' 'When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the Harry Potter films, they didn't say in what part,' McKellen recounted. WATCH: Ian McKellen Sounds Off on Oscar Diversity: 'No Openly Gay Man Has Ever Won' The X-Men star recently sat down for an interview with the BBC, where he opened up about his decision to not take on the role of a second wild-bearded wizard. While filmmakers ended up casting Michael Gambon in the iconic role for the next six films in the series, producers first approached a number of famed English actors, including McKellen. Actor Richard Harris originated the role of the celebrated Hogwarts headmaster in the first two Harry Potter films, but he died after a battle with Hodgkin's disease in 2002, at the age of 72, before the start of production on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

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