FILM-HOLMES/PREMIERE Stars hit a mock-up Baker street for the London premiere of 'Mr Holmes'

Record ID: 150829

  • Title: FILM-HOLMES/PREMIERE Stars hit a mock-up Baker street for the London premiere of 'Mr Holmes'
  • Date: 10th June 2015
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 10, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WIDE OF COBBLE STONE CARPET AT ODEON CINEMA IN WEST LONDON 'MR HOLMES' PROMOTIONAL SIGN AND BAKER STREET SIGN 'MR HOLMES' POSTER AND FANS, ONE WITH A DEERSTALKER HAT PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ACTOR IAN MCKELLEN POSING IAN MCKELLEN IAN MCKELLEN POSING SOUNDBITE (English) ACTOR IAN MCK
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8Q0JJMDTDA9SR8XTVYPC0YLEH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ian McKellen joined his co-stars at a mock-up Baker Street for the UK premiere of 'Mr Holmes' in London on Wednesday (June 10).
    In the film, directed by Bill Condon (Kinsey, Gods and Monsters), McKellen takes on the role Sherlock Holmes - but not as many might imagine the legendary British detective.
    Many have watched Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr play younger and more energetic versions of Sherlock on television and in film in recent years.
    The Sherlock McKellen portrays is an elderly bee keeper with early signs of dementia, who at the age of 93 has long since retired from solving cases.
    He lives in a remote farmhouse in Sussex with his housekeeper Mrs Munro (Laura Linney) and her young son Roger (Milo Parker).
    But he is unable to let go of his past, desperate to recall an unsolved case involving a beautiful woman, which ultimately led to his retirement.
    Mckellen, 76, said that the audience wouldn't be disappointed with his portrayal of Holmes, as there have been so many.
    "Well, it may surprise you, Benedict (Cumberbatch) is not the first person to ever play Sherlock Holmes, there have been over a hundred of us over the years on film and television and radio and on the stage. This Holmes, Mr Holmes, is 93 years old when we first meet him at the end of a long life, of retirement. And he's trying to solve his last mystery, the one that he didn't quite complete when he in his heyday. So I get to play Holmes young and middle-aged so that makes it slightly superior to other versions," he said.
    The British actor, whose notable film roles include Gandalf in 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies and Magneto in the 'X-Men' films, said that he could imagine retirement - but would not be "giving up".
    "When you don't work you can do lovely things like see friends and go to the theatre and travel, and I like doing all those things, so I don't aim to earn twelve months of the year but six or eight months," he said.
    McKellen has plenty of projects to keep him busy until then, including playing Cogsworth the enchanted clock in Disney's upcoming 'Beauty and the Beast'.
    It may have been a bittersweet evening for 'X-Men' fans, when McKellen confirmed that he would not be returning as Magneto in 'X-Men: Apocalypse.'
    However, 'X-Men' co-star Patrick Stewart appeared on the cobblestone carpet to support his long time friend in his new film - and cemented their friendship with what appeared to be a kiss.
    Although an ageing Mr Holmes could be seen as a refreshing take on the famous sleuth, named in 2012 as the most portrayed literary human character in film and TV by Guinness World Records, co-star Laura Linney, 51, who plays Holmes' housekeeper, added that there were still not enough roles for mature women in Hollywood.
    "You know it's a question that everyone asks all the time, there never has been, it's not that anything is different now, the ratio is always skewed towards men, it always has been and it probably always will be," she said.
    'Mr Holmes' is due for release in the UK on June 19.
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