Ian McKellen is buying a 300-year-old pub.
The Lord of the Rings actor is a regular at historic east London drinking establishment The Grapes which helped inspire 19th century English author Charles Dickens and is in the process of purchasing it.
While he will be the owner, 72-year-old Ian who lives close to the pub will employ a manager to run it once the deal is finalized.
Seller Barbara Haigh who has run the pub for the past 17 years said, “Sir Ian is buying the pub with his own interests at heart, especially living close by.”
The pub was immortalized by Dickens who was made to stand on the table and sing to customers as ‘The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters’ pub in ‘Our Mutual Friend’ in 1864.
While Ian is a hugely successful actor and is set to be a landlord, last year he revealed he was mistaken for a beggar by a passer-by.
The veteran actor was amazed to be given money after he stepped outside a theater in Melbourne, Australia, where he was taking a break from rehearsing his role of Estragon in Waiting for Godot.
“During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet and seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat. I hope the Melbourne audiences will be as generous,” he said.
