Article content

Sir Ian McKellen was offered US$1.5 million to dress as his beloved Lord of the Rings character Gandalf at billionaire Sean Parker’s wedding.

The offer was made to McKellen through an intermediary on behalf of Parker, who was Facebook’s first president, and the co-founder of the music streaming service Napster. Though the actor refused, he said he still would have considered officiating the 2013 ceremony if Parker hadn’t demanded that he be in character.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Gandalf doesn't do weddings': Ian McKellen turned down $1.5 million to officiate Lord of the Rings wedding Back to video

“I was offered one and a half million dollars to marry a very famous couple in California, which I would perhaps have considered doing but I had to go dressed as Gandalf,” McKellen said in Britain’s The Daily Mail. “So I said, ‘I am sorry, Gandalf doesn’t do weddings.'”

The real McKellen, however, is available for weddings. Having qualified as a celebrant in 2013, when he officiated the civil wedding of friend and actor Patrick Stewart with musician Sunny Ozell.