Few actors know the works of Shakespeare like Ian McKellen. The legendary star of stage and screen has trodden the boards many, many times over the years, delving deep into the playwright’s greatest works – and at the age of 84, he’s not done yet. McKellen is back in the title role of Hamlet in a production filmed at the Theatre Royal Windsor, coming to cinemas for one night only, under the direction of Sean Mathias. And while McKellen first played the role nearly 50 years ago, he’s still finding fresh resonances in the tragedy of the Danish prince. “Although I thought it was a crazy idea, I thought, ‘I haven’t quite finished with Hamlet’,” he tells Empire.
Originally devised for the stage, the arrival of COVID instead led to this Hamlet being filmed for the screen – a medium that offered different advantages. “I think the older Hamlet is less of a performance; it’s more internal,” explains McKellen. “With the camera close, you can be much more intimate. And that’s what I hoped to do: make the spirit of Hamlet credible. Even thought he wasn’t quite in the right body.”
And while the character is often played as a younger prince, McKellen’s breadth of lived experience offers a different perspective on Shakespeare’s tale of murder, betrayal, and morbidity. “The other thing that I share with Hamlet is an obsession with death,” the actor chuckles. “Young people in a healthy state of mind are not all that interested in death; it’s something that happens to other people. When you get to my age, it’s something that happens to your friends and yourself. Being closer to death than I was when I first played Hamlet, I think, was an advantage.” Get ready for a Hamlet like no other.
Hamlet, starring Ian McKellen, comes to UK cinemas for one night only on 27 February.