Video Shows How Ian McKellen Coveys Emotions With His Eyes While Acting
Ian McKellen is an incredible actor, and one of his most memorable and notable roles in his career is when he played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. When you look into his eyes in those films there is so much emotion exploding from them.
I have a fantastic video essay here for you to watch from The Nerdwriter that takes a deep dive into McKellen’s acting and the things that he does with his eyes to communicate the character’s emotions and feelings.
The video focuses on McKellen’s role as Gandalf and notes that as the story’s moral center, it was up to Gandolf to make himself understood, and the eyes are the most important aspect of doing that.
Sometimes in film we don’t really hear something until we see someone hearing it…when Frodo makes his momentous decision to take the ring to Mordor. I always tear up at this scene, but not when Frodo says his line, just after it. It’s the simple act of Gandolf closing his eyes that brings it home for me. The emotion is almost indescribable – a mix of love, fear, resignation, pride. …Really, putting it all into words defeats the purpose. It’s all the significance of that choice in a look.
Check out the video below and let us know what you think!