Actors including Sean Connery, Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill and the actor’s X-Men co-star and real-life bestie Patrick Stewart were reportedly in the running for Gandalf.
It sounds like Ian McKellen’s sense of humor was very much intact because obviously we can not think of any other actor better suited for the role.
Though, I guess there could be a morsel of truth to his claims that he jumped the line due to the franchise’s filming location.