Sir Ian McKellen chokes up while reading coming out letter in novel

[Sir Ian McKellen reads from Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Photo via Letters Live/The Independent]

Sir Ian McKellen a.k.a Gandalf a.k.a. Magneto a.k.a Shakespearean staple silenced an auditorium during one of his readings for his Letters Live performance series this week.

The British actor was reading a passage from Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. In it, a character named Michael Tolliver writes a letter to his parents to dissuade them from supporting anti-gay politics.

While the premise is fiction, the sentiment expressed reflects a struggle all children face when their beliefs differ from their family.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” the passage reads. “Not for what I am, but for how you must feel at this moment. I know what that feeling is, for I felt it for most of my life.

“Revulsion, shame, disbelief — rejection through fear of something I knew, even as a child, was as basic to my nature as the color of my eyes.”

McKellen is a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community, speaking as an openly gay man since 1988 and as co-founder of Stonewall.

“Being gay has taught me tolerance, compassion and humility,” the passage continues. “It has shown me the limitless possibilities of living. It has given me people whose passion and kindness and sensitivity have provided a constant source of strength.”

You can watch McKellen’s emotional performance over at The Advocate.