Ian McKellen: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Himself - Extras (2006)

Say what you will about Ricky Gervais (and really, there is a lot to be said, and not a lot of it good), but Extras certainly had its moments. Those moments were mostly when the newly minted superstar delved into his little black book of Hollywood contacts, drafting in some of the tinsel town elite for cameo appearances in his series about those actors struggling to get into the foreground of a shot, let alone a line of dialogue. More often than not said actors were playing exaggerated versions of themselves, with the majority of them incredibly game to make asses of themselves, from Kate Winslet desperate for an Oscar (which, hilariously, she actually did manage by playing a Nazi a little while after), Daniel Radcliffe eager to show off how adult he was after the Harry Potter films were over, and Patrick Stewart as a pervy version of himself pitching a script where he has the ability to make women's clothes disappear at will. One of the better, less broad appearances was from Stewart's best bud Sir Ian McKellen in the second series, where he appears directing Gervais's Andy Millman in A Month Of Summers, a play about a homosexual relationship. McKellen is very much the straight man as Millman struggles to deal with his own hang ups regarding his sexuality, especially when he makes the eleventh hour decision to the actor should kiss his male co-star during a pivotal scene. Understated, hilarious genius. He's a funny guy, that Gandalf.