Proving his acting repertoire is not restricted to the highbrow, Sir Ian McKellen is planning to make a brief appearance in popular Kiwi soap Shortland Street. McKellen has been playing the title role of King Lear in Auckland with the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of a five-nation tour but is hoping to swap his crown for hospital scrubs on the “Shortie” set on Monday, The New Zealand Herald reported on Saturday. The 68-year-old star, who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, may appear in a walk-on role, possibly as a nurse or hospital cleaner, after saying he had always wanted to star in the medical drama. [More]
Category: LotR Cast News

He makes occasional appearances on the television series All Saints. He is internationally best known for his performance as Denethor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film. His latest films are White Noise: The Light and One Night with the King. He stands 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) in height.
He played Russian Consul Anatoly Markov in the sixth season of 24. He was also the Artistic Director of Stage Company of South Australia from 1977 to 1987 and Head of Drama, Brent St. School of Arts (Sydney) 1997-2000.
Lee sends this in: The World Series of Video Games, operated by Games Media Properties of New York, will be making a stop at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this Friday for a three-day showcase of high-stakes online competition that will see an army of futuristic soldiers on the hunt, guitar heroes vamping it up, and orcs, trolls and dwarves working together to slay dragons…A collection of cult movie and TV stars such as Hayden Christensen from Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer and Sean Astin, who starred as a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will all be in attendance in the Fan Expo Canada area, also included in the $15 WSVG entrance fee. [More]
Orlando Bloom has been voted Britain’s most desirable date. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star has topped Cosmopolitan magazine’s Eligible Eleven poll, after readers chose him as the man they would most like to be wooed by. The 30-year-old actor’s sex appeal secured him 21 per cent of the vote. However, those hoping to land a date with Orlando will be disappointed. He is currently rumoured to be dating his ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ co-star, Naomie Harris, 30, following his split from actress Kate Bosworth. [More]
Smeagirl Girllum also sends along word that Sean Astin has canceled his planned trip to Dragon*Con due to a scheduling conflict. [More]
Smeagirl Girllum writes: The NYC Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting recently spoke to Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, stars of HBO’s new “Made in NY” show, Flight of the Conchords. The conversation is the MOFTB’s first “Made in NY” podcast. [More]