Ian McKellen: When we weren't facing off on-set, Christopher Lee was a true gentleman and touchingly nervous

When I arrived in New Zealand to start filming as Gandalf, in the first week of the 21st Century, Peter Jackson held a dinner for some of the cast. I was happily next to Christopher Lee who I had known of  throughout my actor-admiring life. He'd been cast as the white wizard Saruman but his opening line to me was: “I've always thought I should play Gandalf. I read Lord of the Rings every year – sometimes twice.”