ianmckellen.jpg From The Advocate: British actor Sir Ian McKellen spoke out on behalf of gay victims of hate crimes Monday, reported Reuters U.K. “There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay,” McKellen told Reuters, adding, “My own death threats have declined considerably. I think I’ve become rather boring now to the public at large on this particular issue so I’m thought to be unremarkable.” A founding member of the British LGBT rights advocacy group Stonewall, McKellen is better known for his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which he will be taking up again in The Hobbit, filming for which begins next year.