Catch the great Ian McKellen as ‘Lear’ tonight

It's hard to believe that Ian Mckellen didn't star in a movie until he was in his early 40s.

We know McKellen now both as Gandalf the Grey (and then White) from the Peter Jackson adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" franchises and as Magneto in the "X-Men" franchise. And he's played many movie and TV parts since the mid-60s

But until 1981, when the film "Priest of Love" premiered — in which McKellen was cast in his first lead role as the novelist D.H. Lawrence — he'd been known mostly for what his true talent is: as a Shakespearean actor.

It is in that role that McKellen will appear tonight at 7 at two area theaters, the Regal sites at Northtown Mall and Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium, when the National Theatre Live production of "King Lear" will screen.

 Lear, of course, is the role that many great actors hold off playing until they are older. Since McKellen is now 79, his timing is perfect (though he did play Lear in 2007 for Trevor Nunn). And the critics agree:

The Guardian: "(T)his production still dazzles, McKellen shimmering brightest at its dark, tormented heart."

What's On Stage: "(H)e is so comfortable inside Shakespeare’s language that he finds new meaning and inflections in every line.”

Financial Times: "It is a precise, marvellously humane performance, McKellen using the intimate nature of the staging to draw you in."

Seeing McKellen in the art form he was born to play. What an opportunity.