Ian McKellen revealed at a recent film festival in Rome (via The Guardian) that he directed his anger at Donald Trump during an action scene in Avengers: Doomsday, in which the 87-year-old actor returns as the iconic X-Men villain Magneto. The film’s directors, the Russo brothers, told McKellen to “look more enraged” in one scene where Magneto uses his powers to wreak havoc.
“(They) told us to look like we hated what we were destroying,” McKellen said. “So I stood there and yelled, ‘Mar-a-Lago!'”
Mar-a-Lago is a resort in Palm Beach, Florida that President Trump has owned since 1985. President Trump regularly visits the facility and used it to meet with international leaders during his time as president. McKellen’s criticism of Trump drew laughs from the audience at the Cinema in Piazza festival, a series of free outdoor screenings and Q&A sessions open to the public.
McKellen has criticized Trump in the past. During Trump’s first term as president in 2017, the “X-Men” and “Lord of the Rings” actor criticized the president for failing to protect LGBTQ+ rights. At the time, the White House did not recognize Pride Month and rescinded an executive order to ensure fair wages and safe workplaces, which many argued would leave LGBTQ+ employees vulnerable to discrimination. McKellen told Variety: “This is appalling, completely unnecessary and deeply un-American. The gay rights movement started in America. It started in San Francisco, and it started in Stonewall, the city where Donald Trump was born and prospered.”
McKellen added at the time: “I can’t follow Trump.” “I don’t always understand what he’s saying, and when I do, I have to admit later that I was wrong because he changed his mind or changed his mind about what he said. He’s a very bad communicator, at least to me. Be more direct, Donald, so we can take you seriously.”
