Ian McKellen talks 'Beauty and the Beast'

Ian McKellen, who has been busy promoting his new film Mr. Holmes, which is also directed by Bill Condon, once again discussed his upcoming role as Cogsworth in a pair of new interviews. Speaking with the Irish Examiner, McKellen described the butler turned clock as a "fantastic character" and spoke about the film's approach to the enchanted objects and Dan Steven's Beast.

“The cheek of it made me want to do it,” he says. “They had written this fantastic character. He is a butler that gets turned into a clock. It is based on the Disney animation, although here animation is used for the characters that the prince sees when he is under the spell.” 

The prince-cum-beast, played by Dan Stevens, won’t be animated. “He will be a monster, a beast. Basically, I just have had to supply a voice and the animators will do the rest. Then, at the end of the film, the characters all turn back into their real selves and then I sing and dance in a Disney movie.”

The second interview is a segment of the June 12th episode of The Empire Film Podcast. McKellen briefly discusses Beauty and the Beast at a few points, beginning at the 51:03 mark (then again at 53:33, 56:12, and finally at 57:35).


Source: Irish Examiner, The Empire Film Podcast