From wizard to Godot, actor plays fun roles in long career

Veteran stage and film actor Ian McKellen says children want to say "hello" to him in the street because he plays the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, but he knows they know he's not the real thing.

"They know you're not really Gandalf, but I know Gandalf, so they want to meet me," McKellen, 75, and looking every bit the wizard he is on screen in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, said on Tuesday after the world premiere.

"It's rather like going to see Santa Claus in the shop, even though you know it's not the real Santa Claus - or at least I did; didn't you?" he said with a mock quizzical glance.