MovieChat Forums > X-Men (2000) Discussion > Ian McKellen's Magneto

Ian McKellen's Magneto

posted 8 years ago by dsanderson22
9 replies | jump to latest

I don't know about anyone else, but I never took his Magneto seriously. Though powerful, he always just looked like someone's grandfather to me. He was only 60 during filming of X1, but he was feeble and tiny...just had very little physical screen presence.

Fassbender's Magneto, on the other hand, reminds me of the Magneto from the comics and the 90's tv show.

Of course, I understand that Fassbender is younger...but Ian McKellen looks like a light breeze could blow him over.

Does anyone know who the other possible choices were for Magneto in X1?

[–] praisethelove 8 years ago

yeah I always thought it was weird that they picked him for the role too. he did seem a bit old for magneto. not that he's a bad actor or anything.

[–] dsanderson22 8 years ago

Yeah, as an actor, awesome. I just never saw that "bigger than life" persona (physically or otherwise) that the penned/cartoon Magneto had. I felt the same way with the Apocalypse character in the newest movie.

[–] tngrecuts 7 years ago

he was supposed to be a holocaust survivor and this was set "in the future"

so he had to look old to fit the part

[–] causewayking 7 years ago

He should have been Played by Clint Eastwood.

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[–] AndrewGS 8 years ago

He's supposed to be old (that's pretty much necessary for him being a Holocaust survivor, especially as the film is supposedly set slightly into the future, and a contemporary of Xavier) but, without being massive, he really didn't seem feeble or tiny to me. I thought he had a lot of good presence, especially when fighting (the first time owning) Wolverine.

[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 8 years ago

I found it cool that Gandalf was Magneto.

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[–] LarsA81 8 years ago

I agree!! Would love to have seen other actors play Magneto as old. Fassbender is phenominal, also as a younger and more grim Magneto! Much more in line with the comic-book character. McKellan really seemed too old for the role. But he's a good opposite to Stewarts Prof. X, thou!!

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[–] q_leo_rahman 7 years ago

McKellen is one of my favourite Magneto actors. My only complaint is that he played him like a Shakespearean aristocrat; he should have been slightly grittier to reflect his having come from a WW2 background.

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[–] Gastonian (946) 6 years ago

I ended up loving McKellen's Magneto but age was never a problem for me. In fact my first choice would have been Max von Sydow, who is older. But he is physically taller, more imposing and could naturally come across as a German immigrant as he has many time before. My initial reservations about McKellen was physical stature and just going with his British aristocrat voice / demeanor despite the characters background. Which is ironic, because just prior to this movie he really nailed a German character in Apt Pupil