Sir Ian McKellen has admitted he found it more daunting to play the lead in Shakespeare's King Lear than he did playing Gandalf in blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings.

The veteran actor received an Academy Award nomination for his role as the wizard and appeared in highly acclaimed film X-Men as the villainous Magneto.

But McKellen was more nervous adapting the role of King Lear on stage because he had watched others play the part so many times before.

He said: "I’d never read Lord of the Rings until I was asked to play Gandalf, so I didn’t really know it was a frightfully famous book. I had never come across the X-Men comics till I was asked to play Magneto, so I just jumped into that job.

"King Lear, I’ve been seeing all my life. I mean, the great actors of my lifetime - to join their company, as it were, by playing a part that’s challenged them, is one of the great joys of being an actor who does the classics. Without doubt, Lear is the one I got most nervous about."