IAN MCKELLEN - NO MCKELLEN NUDE SCENE FOR TV'S KING LEAR

NO MCKELLEN NUDE SCENE FOR TV'S KING LEAR

SIR IAN MCKELLEN's full frontal nude scene in a stage production of KING LEAR has been cut from a U.S. TV version of the play.
MCKellen stars in network PBS' adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of King Lear - but producers have decided to simply "suggest" the nudity, instead of showing the full, unedited clip.
The Lord of the Rings actor has no qualms about the decision, because now the nudity won't take the audience's attention away from the drama itself.
He says, "If it's a distraction of that sort, it's not worth the candle."
And MCKellen, 69, admits he would often feel self-conscious when disrobing onstage for the scene.
He adds, "Every night, when I'd take my clothes off, you know what I used to do? Pull in my stomach. That's pathetic. I was playing an old man. I should have let it all hang out, and I couldn't do that."