"He took me for an Italian lunch in Pimlico, where we chatted about this and that until he brought up the real reason for his invitation. He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall - a lobby group to present to the government and the world at large the case for treating UK lesbians and gays equally under the law with the rest of the population."
"McKellen continued: "He thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw. Advice from an older generation, which I didn't follow.""
"This all came back watching the current tour of Two Halves of Guinness, a solo show which hints at Sir Alec's latent bisexuality in a way that would have upset him, I suppose. Included in the play are allusions to Guinness's bisexuality."
Ian McKellen, known for playing Gandalf, said Alec Guinness once pleaded with him not to actively campaign for gay rights. McKellen came out as gay in 1988 and helped co-found Stonewall in 1989 to argue for equal treatment of UK lesbians and gay men under the law. McKellen described being taken to lunch by Guinness in Pimlico, where Guinness raised his concerns about McKellen’s political activism. McKellen said Guinness advised him to withdraw, but he did not follow the advice. McKellen later recalled the lunch while watching a play about Guinness’s life that alludes to Guinness’s bisexuality.
Read at The Independent
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