McKellan feared King Lear would turn him mad

Ian McKellan fought against playing tragic Shakespeare character King Lear onstage - because he feared the role would make him mad.

The 68-year-old thespian has received rave reviews for his latest Royal Shakespeare Company role, but admits he worried the maddening part would be too much for him.

He says: "It was one of those parts that I didn't want to play… I'd seen, at close quarters, two Lears and what it cost them (actors). You have to go full pelt at it, 100%, with every part of your make-up, at certain points of the evening.

"I worried for the health, if not the sanity, of the two actors that I was very close to... and I began to think, 'Was it really worth (it),' to tell a story that is well known and which other actors have succeeded in."