Acting icon Sir Ian McKellen was moved to tears after joining the Scissor Sisters on stage at this year's Glastonbury Music Festival and standing before a crowd that showed their love by chanting his name.
The openly gay actor—best known to legions of fans around the world for his performances as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the live-action X-Men films—made a surprise appearance on the Woodsies stage for Saturday’s headline set.
Long regarded as one of the world's most accomplished and renowned theater performers, Sir Ian was there to perform his monologue from the Scissor Sisters’ 2010 single “Invisible Light," which is featured on their third studio album Night Work.
In videos shared online, the 86-year-old is seen backstage wiping away tears and covering his face after the performance, while the audience chants “Sir Ian McKellen” to the melody of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
You can see multiple videos of Sir Ian's performance and reaction below.
Many were moved by the touching moment and also shared their love and appreciation for the acting legend.
Sir Ian has shown no signs of slowing down his career after more than six decades of performances—not even after making headlines last year when he lost his footing and fell off the stage while in the middle of a fight scene in Player Kings at London's Noël Coward Theatre.
The actor was hospitalized and later made a full recovery. The play's producers later thanked "our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall."
Sir Ian later took to X himself to thank his fans for their love and support and expressed his gratitude for the "series of experts, specialists, and nurses working for the National Health Service" who treated him after his accident. He said that "to them, of course, I am deeply indebted."
