Ian McKellen says Harvey Weinstein once apologized for 'stealing' his Oscar

Ian McKellen doesn’t put much stock in trophies.

The British actor has been a beloved big-screen presence for 60 years, with acclaimed films such as “Scandal,” “Richard III,” and “Six Degrees of Separation.” He’s won Tonys, Oliviers, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards. But somehow, the Oscar has eluded him, despite earning nominations for 1998’s “Gods and Monsters” and 2001’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

“There are other ways of judging success,” McKellen says. “Comparing one performance with another doesn’t really make sense − unless, of course, the two actors were playing the same part in different productions. Then you could compare them. But I think, on the whole, it’s the part that wins the Oscar,” not the performance.

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In “Gods and Monsters,” McKellen starred alongside Brendan Fraser in a biopic of James Whale, the queer pioneer of horror best known for 1930s classics “Bride of Frankenstein” and “The Invisible Man.” McKellen picked up numerous critics' prizes for his poignant work, as well as an Independent Spirit Award for best male lead. But he ultimately lost the best actor Oscar to Roberto Benigni (“Life Is Beautiful”), thanks in part to an aggressive awards campaign by now-disgraced Miramax head Harvey Weinstein.

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“Harvey Weinstein met me a few years later and apologized for having stolen the Oscar from me,” McKellen wryly recalls. “I was like, ‘Thanks very much, Harvey.’ ”

There’s a slim chance that McKellen, 85, could return to the Oscar race this fall with “The Critic” (in theaters Friday). Reviews have been tepid for the period drama (39% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), although critics have praised McKellen’s biting turn. But he’ll face stiff competition this awards season from early front-runners including Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) and Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”).

“Who knows what’s worthy or not worthy of recognition?” says “Critic” director Anand Tucker. “What I do know is that Ian has delivered a really fine performance,” one that is both “brave” and “unflinching.”

“It’s like Michael Jordan at basketball: someone who’s absolutely so good at their craft and so in the zone, they don’t even think about it,” Tucker says. “They’re transcending, and it’s an amazing thing to watch someone do that.”

Ian McKellen believes the ill-conceived ‘Cats’ movie could’ve been ‘better’

“The Critic” is McKellen’s most high-profile movie role since 2019’s camp catastrophe “Cats,” an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s dance musical phenomenon. The misguided film took a critical battering (19% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes), with many people mocking the movie’s uncanny use of digital effects to make actors appear feline.

Even still, McKellen and his longtime friend, Judi Dench, both walked away unscathed, bringing gravitas to a deeply chaotic film.

“We had a lovely time, Judi and I,” McKellen says. “I haven’t actually seen the complete version of the film – I saw it before we had ears and tails put on. It probably would’ve been better if they hadn’t had those additions.”

As the doddering Gus the Theatre Cat, McKellen easily outshone his younger co-stars, who included Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson.

“I’m not a singer and I apparently gave the poor accompanist hell, because my rhythm and timing weren’t always according to the page,” McKellen recalls. “But after an early run-through, Andrew Lloyd Webber came up to me and he was crying. He said, ‘Have you ever done a musical?’ I said no, and he was like, ‘Why not?’ So that was nice. I’d like to do another musical, but I can’t really sing so I won’t be doing one.”

“Cats” began in London’s West End in 1981, before transferring to Broadway and running 18 years. McKellen recalls first seeing “Cats” in the U.K. with the show’s producer, Bernard B. Jacobs, and his 8-year-old niece.

At intermission, “he said to me, ‘Ian, what do you think?’ ” McKellen recalls. “I said, ‘Amateur is not the right word, but Brits do enjoy things that are not quite expert. No way this will work on Broadway, where professional standards are so high and audiences expect so much.’ He then turned to his niece and said, ‘What do you think, honey?’ She said, ‘I love it!’ and he went with her opinion, not mine.

“But that’s how I nearly stopped ‘Cats’ from ever coming to Broadway!”