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'Gandalf meet Gandalf': Man dressed as Gandalf bumps into 'LOTR' actor Sir Ian McKellen during pub crawl

The TikTok video shows a man donning Gandalf's costume chatting with Sir Ian McKellen while walking down the streets of Bristol

BRISTOL, ENGLAND: What could be the best gift for a ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan on his birthday? To meet the great Gandalf, Sir Ian McKellen, of course! A University of Bristol student, while celebrating his 22nd birthday, got the quirkiest surprise of his life as he got to see the ‘LOTR’ star Sir Ian during the “pub crawl”. And the greatest catch is that the 22-year-old was dressed as Gandalf himself!

A TikTok video shared by one Scarlet Learmonth shows the clip of a man donning the full regalia of the iconic character, complete with a long dark cloak, wizard hat, and a large blue stick supposed to represent the wizard’s staff, chatting with an old man while walking down the streets of Bristol. The old man was none other than ‘The Hobbit’ superstar Sir Ian, who was in Bristol to star in the ‘Mother Goose’ pantomime at the Hippodrome. Sir Ian, on his part, was looking dapper in a blue pair of trousers, brown shoes, and a trench coat. Scarlet Learmonth posted the video with the caption, "POV: for your mates' 22nd he dressed as Gandalf and bumped into THE IAN MCKELLEN."

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'OH MY GOD IT'S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!'

The man has been identified as Ben Coyles, who is a music student from Bristol University and was celebrating his 22nd birthday with his friends. Another fellow student, Felix Spencer, 21, who recorded the video, said to Bristol Live, "We had no idea he would be there. We were on our penultimate pub when someone comes up to me and asks me if we would like our Gandalf to meet the real Gandalf." Spencer then continued, "So I turn around and assume it’s going to be someone pulling my leg but when I turn round Sir Ian McKellen is right there. So I shout out to Ben so that he could have a chance to talk with him and get some pictures together." Scarlet Learmonth, who shared the video, said, "A few of us were aware of his nearby events, but never imagined to bump into him."

Ben Coyles was, however, “flabbergasted”, as he said, "So it was really bizarre, it was my 22nd birthday, and we were on a pub crawl.” He continued, "Me and all my mates were walking down the street and I heard behind me 'do you want to meet the real Gandalf?' I didn't recognise him immediately then I was like 'OH MY GOD IT'S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!'”

The birthday boy further added, "Everybody said 'what on earth is going on?!' He asked me how old I was and said happy birthday and shook my hand.” "I was flabbergasted, I had no idea what to do or say. We had zero idea that he was walking down that street,” remarked Coyles of the meeting.

‘Your Gandalf was exactly as I’d always imagined him'

In an interview with GQ in 2021, Sir Ian said, “I still don’t quite know how Gandalf came my way,” before adding, “I think because some of the actors who would have been offered it before me were rather put off by the idea of having to live in New Zealand for a year. ‘Where the hell is that?’ Well, more fool them.”

He also talked about the popularity of Tolkien’s books, saying, “I realised the popularity of the books not because I had read them, but I just got so many messages from people who were desperately worried that they were going to see the characters exactly as they had imagined.”

Talking about the fans’ reactions, he added, “I can’t count the number of people who said to me, ‘Your Gandalf was exactly as I’d always imagined him.’” However, he quipped, “Well, how could that be? Because my Gandalf to look at is nothing like the Gandalf described in the books.”

'Gandalf - meet Gandalf!'

"Obsessed with this lad who dressed up as Gandalf for his 22nd birthday and then casually bumped into Ian McKellen in the street," one user quipped. "Gandalf? Yes... That was my name. Man on pub crawl dressed as Gandalf bumps into Ian McKellen," comments another. University of Bristol, where Ben is a student, tweeted, "Gandalf - meet Gandalf! Bristol Uni music student and #LOTR super fan Ben got a birthday surprise after bumping into acting legend @IanMcKellen this weekend whilst dressed in a Gandalf costume! Hope you had a magical birthday Ben!" A local leader from Bristol said, "Man dressed as Gandalf meets the actual Gandalf in Bristol. Amazing and so very Bristol."

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