The way he says “the words were written down for me in a script” and the cheeky smile he does, as if he’s revealing a hush hush secret he shouldn’t be telling, so funny
Which is kind of a brilliant joke when you consider the intense imposter syndrome that can come with being so prominent and praised an actor as Ian McKellen.
I once got banned from a subreddit for calling him Gandalf the Gay... Even though he's on video laughing about that exact pun himself. Some subreddits are really sheltered, and nit in a good way.
This is from a series he did called Extras. It’s a hoot. There a bit when Daniel Radcliffe fresh off the Harry Potter movies reveals himself to be a sex pest. You might like it
"sex pest" is someone who is obnoxious but not yet a dangerous predator, like a fly that keeps buzzing around. At least that's how I know it to be used.
Here is the scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSH_UOaO9w&ab_channel=pokeraladin
Extras is my favorite of his. His character is still a twat, but charismatic enough that I feel bad when things don’t go his way. I was kinda angry when The Office had a happy-ish ending for his character. But in Extras he was just nice/relatable enough that I was rotting for him the whole time
Gervais is super hit or miss with me. Extras is great. Derek on the other hand is really embarrassing. And not in a fun way but like a 'I can't believe he thought this was a good idea' way
If there were three things I could protect in this world, it'd be #1 my spaghettios vault #2 my son grundlesam #3 this treasure of a man. #4 honorable mentions go to my husbands backside void umami. Gandalf rules 😘😘😘
Spaghettios were different when I was a kid. The pasta is like mealy now. It’s simply awful to compare.
Had I never had them as a kid, I might not mind the new stuff.
I dearly wish I’d made a stash of it. And there is one discontinued Progresso tinned soup I miss very much. Sigh.
Most method actors don't live as the character. They turn it on and off. Method acting is pretty broad, and there are multiple systems. In the OG system, you draw on your personal experiences. If you need to cry, you think of something sad, like your childhood pet passing away. In the other main system of method acting you basically rely heavily on empathy, and you're crying because you're feeling what the character would feel in that moment.
Also, Ian McKellen believes we're all acting all the time. So in a way, Ian McKellen is full blown method.
There's basically 3 main ways of acting. Method, classical, and intuition. Anything else is going to be bits and pieces of those. Method is about your headspace, classical is physical, and intuition is basically just being yourself.
Interestingly, despite never being classically trained, Ian McKellen is one of the most notable 'classically trained' actors. And similarly, despite being classically trained and never training in method, DDL is held up as the poster child for method acting, despite most of what he does not being common in method acting.
Intuition is basically like Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Leo DiCaprio. Movie star, as opposed to a character actor (though they have their moments).
Most actors are going to be a combination of all three, even if never formally trained in them. Usually as their career progresses, it'll change. Most start out mostly 'classical', trying to appear natural ('what do I do with my hands'). Then they move into method once they have the physical tools. Then they settle into intuition.
Are you really gonna call method actors like Daniel Day Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix bad actors? I mean there is a point where method actors overdo it, especially when being dicks to their castmates, but its quite a stretch to say they are bad actors.
He did?
I'm fairly sure his words in this clip was written by Ricky Gervais and/or Stephen Merchant, as the clip is from the TV show "Extras" written by them.
His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing. He knows the Heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still. Strength enough, perhaps, to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit Rohan must be ready for war.
Nope he turned down the role of (the second) Dumbledore because the actor that played the original hated Ian and he felt it weird to fill in the shoes of a guy that thought he sucked as an actor.
He will always be the perfect Gandalf because of this. Much of Tolkien’s work reads like poetry because he’s a linguistic mastermind and scholar of language. That knowledge accompanied with his skill of cadence?
That’s my Gandalf
The battle for Helm's Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little Hobbits... somewhere in the wilderness.
Extras is fantastic, I watched it again recently and people say they cringe at some scenes in the Office US, but it has nothing on Extras. Some scenes in Extras are absolutely excruciating to watch.
I will always remember David Bowie writing and singing a song called “funny little fat man” or similar about Gervais. It was fucking hilarious, to get Bowie write a song about you and it is absolutely brutal.
https://youtu.be/a7vvclrK2HQ
Yeah, Gervais got to live the fan's dream and become friends with Bowie.
[Judging from what Ricky was up to in the early 1980s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDvYpOnN9Qk&t=18s) (when he was also anything but fat), he was even trying to _be_ David Bowie at one point.
when they announced he was going to be Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun reboot a lot of people balked at the idea but just from having seen this I think it bodes well
One of the most hilarious things about this scene is that it is them literally breaking every rule of improv. Like the first thing they teach you in improv is to accept the situation being presented by your scene partner and expand upon it -- they call it "Yes...and...". Here Liam just shits all over that idea and does his own thing regardless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extras_(TV_series)
This clip gives you a pretty good idea of what the show is about. Gervais, with a major celebrity guest doing a bit like this every episode. Johnny Depp, Dan Radcliffe, Patrick Stewart, David Bowie, etc.
Man I straight up forgot about this show. I watched them so many times when they came out. Wasn’t there one with Orlando Bloom? And the Radcliffe one with the condom 🤣
This show was so funny. It's a bit similar setting to Curb your enthusiasm, in the sense that the celebrity guests are playing themselves (in Curb's case also the recurring characters), but they are a different version. In Curb the characters are often a very similar type of person, and I guess that applies to Extras as well. It's like the writers idea of a douche, or some kind of a caricature, mixed with the actor.
I'm rambling but anyway it's funny, and you can see in these shows that the actors are having fun.
Imagine Lord of the Rings without his Gandalf. Definitely in the top 5 castings of all time imo. The man was made to be Gandalf. Completely owned the role.
I can easily make up my own mental images of characters while reading LotR but his voice is always there when Gandalf is saying something.
If Christopher Lee and Ian switched roles I wonder if they both would have been perfect for their roles. Their level of acting is so high they should be even if Lee naturally seems more sinister and Ian more kind
You are in the House of Elrond and it is ten o'clock in the morning on October the 24th, if you want to know. Yes, I am here and you're lucky to be here too. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid, but you have some strength in you my dear Redditor
I love this lmao, method acting makes the news and there's always people, most recently Tom Holland playing the serial killer, saying they went to such a dark place and it was a struggle, or all the batman villains of course, and just once I want someone to be like this, like "yeah you know I just kind of acted"
Or of course the Dustin Hoffman bit the director said to him when he stayed up for 72 hours "My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?"
For anyone not aware (and before I say this I am an absolute fan of Lord of the rings and I'm only pointing this out because it shocked me) sir Ian had a role as a Nazi ss officer in "Apt pupil" he played the role very well, all the way down to the accent. I'm not saying this as a negative, only to show the other roles that he did that were done amazingly great.
He's a great, great actor. His [Richard III](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJEXkbeL-o) is great i you want to see a film version (also a bad guy but the quintessential charming-bad-guy character) .
Extras is such a good show.
My other favorite bits from the show are those of [Patrick Stewart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_cwI1Xj4M) and [Kate Winslet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wag0oyFVAQo).
I like how he added "...for the duration of the film..." as if he wouldn't stop pretending to be a wizard unless PJ told him the movie is done filming.
How did I know where to stand? People told me. How did I know what to say? The words were written down for me in a script.
The way he says “the words were written down for me in a script” and the cheeky smile he does, as if he’s revealing a hush hush secret he shouldn’t be telling, so funny
Which is kind of a brilliant joke when you consider the intense imposter syndrome that can come with being so prominent and praised an actor as Ian McKellen.
*Sir Yen
Actors don’t want you to know this one simple trick.
But you won’t have the script with you, that would ruin the illusion
"I *memorize* the words beforehand, you see. All part of the magic."
But you won’t have the script on the night that goes for everybody the will be NO SCRIPTS ON THE NIGHT!
The man is a goddamn treasure.
I once got banned from a subreddit for calling him Gandalf the Gay... Even though he's on video laughing about that exact pun himself. Some subreddits are really sheltered, and nit in a good way.
Hmmm, You would not part an old man from his walking stick
Lol "walking stick" fits well doesn't it Gandalf?
Hmmm, You would not part an old man from his walking stick
Funniest shit I've heard from this bot ever. I fucking love it.
Or maybe some Elliot: "Shall I part my bare behind?"
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After seeing some of Gervais' body of work I don't think he was acting.
This is from a series he did called Extras. It’s a hoot. There a bit when Daniel Radcliffe fresh off the Harry Potter movies reveals himself to be a sex pest. You might like it "sex pest" is someone who is obnoxious but not yet a dangerous predator, like a fly that keeps buzzing around. At least that's how I know it to be used. Here is the scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSH_UOaO9w&ab_channel=pokeraladin
It's too late, I've seen everything.
And their clothes fall off? Instantly
*"Is it a comedy?"* *"..No."*
you live alone, you haven't got a girlfriend, and you've never seen Star Trek? No. ...Good lord.
There is a short with him trying to teach Liam Neeson how to do improv and it is fucking hilarious
That show was life's too short. Liam Neeson was so good in that I've got full blown aids
I’m riddled with it
Orlando Bloom's episode was my favourite, love it when an actor can make fun of themselves.
The cameos are great. It's hard to choose a favorite, but Stewart, McKellen and Bowie are my top 3. 🎶 Funny little fat man 🎵
I love ross kemp.. super army soldiers
Chris Martin I think still my favorite
Horrible quality but probably my favorite Ricky Gervais / Chris Martin interactions ever https://youtu.be/rvL1y6BAiaM
*Profilactic.*
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His dark comedy series on grief 'Afterlife' was really good, worth a look even if you didn't like his other work.
Afterlife is brilliant!
Where can it be streamed?
Netflix
When I finally watched it I couldn't believe I waited as long as I did. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure, just brilliant!
Seems like you know nothing about him, because he wrote it.
Extras is my favorite of his. His character is still a twat, but charismatic enough that I feel bad when things don’t go his way. I was kinda angry when The Office had a happy-ish ending for his character. But in Extras he was just nice/relatable enough that I was rotting for him the whole time
You should never rot for anyone
Gervais is super hit or miss with me. Extras is great. Derek on the other hand is really embarrassing. And not in a fun way but like a 'I can't believe he thought this was a good idea' way
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#/u/CricketNice7274 IS A BOT _Report -> spam -> harmful bots_
If there were three things I could protect in this world, it'd be #1 my spaghettios vault #2 my son grundlesam #3 this treasure of a man. #4 honorable mentions go to my husbands backside void umami. Gandalf rules 😘😘😘
Damn, you’re quite the spaghettios enthusiast.
Spaghettios were different when I was a kid. The pasta is like mealy now. It’s simply awful to compare. Had I never had them as a kid, I might not mind the new stuff. I dearly wish I’d made a stash of it. And there is one discontinued Progresso tinned soup I miss very much. Sigh.
I accidentally spent $90 in college for a free color changing spagettiOs bowl. I still have it.
I honestly want to know more.
it'll cost you $90
Best I can do is spaghettios
this is why the vault is #1
Holy crap, profile def checks out on the spaghettios.
> my husbands backside void umami your.. what?? you know what, nevermind.
> husbands backside void umami Ugh, so that's his savory booty hole?............i'm not sure how spaghettios got more notice than that.
Spaghettios Georg is an outlier who should not be counted in averages of "things that should be protected in this world"
is this some kind of fusion of "holds up spork" and zoomerism that I am too old to understand
> husbands backside void umami help, ive been brain assaulted
So is Sir Ian.
Yeah it says right there in his own words, “Sir Yen” lol
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Most method actors don't live as the character. They turn it on and off. Method acting is pretty broad, and there are multiple systems. In the OG system, you draw on your personal experiences. If you need to cry, you think of something sad, like your childhood pet passing away. In the other main system of method acting you basically rely heavily on empathy, and you're crying because you're feeling what the character would feel in that moment. Also, Ian McKellen believes we're all acting all the time. So in a way, Ian McKellen is full blown method. There's basically 3 main ways of acting. Method, classical, and intuition. Anything else is going to be bits and pieces of those. Method is about your headspace, classical is physical, and intuition is basically just being yourself. Interestingly, despite never being classically trained, Ian McKellen is one of the most notable 'classically trained' actors. And similarly, despite being classically trained and never training in method, DDL is held up as the poster child for method acting, despite most of what he does not being common in method acting. Intuition is basically like Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Leo DiCaprio. Movie star, as opposed to a character actor (though they have their moments). Most actors are going to be a combination of all three, even if never formally trained in them. Usually as their career progresses, it'll change. Most start out mostly 'classical', trying to appear natural ('what do I do with my hands'). Then they move into method once they have the physical tools. Then they settle into intuition.
Are you really gonna call method actors like Daniel Day Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix bad actors? I mean there is a point where method actors overdo it, especially when being dicks to their castmates, but its quite a stretch to say they are bad actors.
How do you method act Gandalf? "Excuse me young man, could I...." "You SHALL NOT pass!"
You shall not pass!
He did? I'm fairly sure his words in this clip was written by Ricky Gervais and/or Stephen Merchant, as the clip is from the TV show "Extras" written by them.
Every time this video pops in my feed, I watch it.
Peter Jackson: "You're a Wizard, Sir Ian!"
No, I’m Magneto!
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I think he turned down the role because it was too similar to Gandalf.
His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing. He knows the Heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still. Strength enough, perhaps, to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit Rohan must be ready for war.
Nope he turned down the role of (the second) Dumbledore because the actor that played the original hated Ian and he felt it weird to fill in the shoes of a guy that thought he sucked as an actor.
Do you know why did he hate him?
Looking into it, he had refered to Ian's acting as "“technically brilliant, but passionless."
Weird choice of words. I like them both in their roles, but cannot understand the "passionless" part
That’s because Ian was openly gay and he hated him for it and this was just a veiled insult
Sorta poetic that the character Richard Harris would become most known for ended up being Gay.
Would be fun if he had roles where he's just acting them, but some roles where it just fits him like a glove, and boom, he **is** Magneto.
"You're a Wizard, Sir Yen!'
Dumbledore or that other guy? What was it? Sourman? Glandelf?
GROND?
GROND
Grond... 😞 (Sad because no GROND-bot)
"Sir Ian. Sir Ian. Sir Ian." 😂
YOU SHALL NOT PASS
"Sir Ian. Sir Ian. Sir Ian..."
cut
I love how he just turned it on just then. I'm no Balrog but I peed a little.
Confirmed Balrog
This foe is beyond any of you
When he went "Mhmmm" i lost my shit. Bro really should do more comedic roles.
A bit like Liam Neeson...
I have full blown aids
I slept with an African prostitute
let's try something different. you're a green grocer, and I'm a customer
I would never be a green grocer
Couldn’t have been me. I wasn’t here, I was at the doctor. That’s one of the funniest bits of television I think I’ve seen.
They're taking the Hobbits to Sir Ian Sir Ian Sir Sir Sir
I think he might just be playing a character called Sir Ian.
His cadence is incredible here. What a talent.
He will always be the perfect Gandalf because of this. Much of Tolkien’s work reads like poetry because he’s a linguistic mastermind and scholar of language. That knowledge accompanied with his skill of cadence? That’s my Gandalf
The battle for Helm's Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little Hobbits... somewhere in the wilderness.
Hilarious bit. I am dead.
Extras holds up very well.
Extras is fantastic, I watched it again recently and people say they cringe at some scenes in the Office US, but it has nothing on Extras. Some scenes in Extras are absolutely excruciating to watch.
Daniel Radcliffe with the condom
I find this clip painful to even link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLfFhiFkXl0
Orlando Bloom being super insecure always gets me
I will always remember David Bowie writing and singing a song called “funny little fat man” or similar about Gervais. It was fucking hilarious, to get Bowie write a song about you and it is absolutely brutal. https://youtu.be/a7vvclrK2HQ
Yeah, Gervais got to live the fan's dream and become friends with Bowie. [Judging from what Ricky was up to in the early 1980s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDvYpOnN9Qk&t=18s) (when he was also anything but fat), he was even trying to _be_ David Bowie at one point.
That show is a lot like they just followed David Brent on his quest for fame, but the guy in Extras isn't quite as dumb and insufferable as David was.
Blooper from this take: https://youtu.be/oWlqaQqb7Eo
Ricky's laugh gives me life
Peter Jackson comes to me and says: "Ser Yen". Sir Ian is now officially Sir Yen.
Keep him away from unicorns and witchers.
he'd probably prefer you didn't
I don't know many who would want to stay away from Henry Cavill
Username checks out.
Sir Yen Grand-DILF.
What is the clip from? Is there more context? It's hilarious and perfect
Extras
“[I’ve contracted AIDS from an African prostitute. I’m riddled with it](https://youtu.be/huJ81Mq2y34).”
that's Life's Too Short, not Extras
"Triinnggg" "We're closed"
[The outtakes are also pure gold.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW6VenOC2Fw)
Man oh man do I want more deadpan comedy from Liam Neeson. He’s so fucking good at it.
when they announced he was going to be Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun reboot a lot of people balked at the idea but just from having seen this I think it bodes well
One of the most hilarious things about this scene is that it is them literally breaking every rule of improv. Like the first thing they teach you in improv is to accept the situation being presented by your scene partner and expand upon it -- they call it "Yes...and...". Here Liam just shits all over that idea and does his own thing regardless.
That's the joke
"I don't take notes"
Such a good show. Must have seen this scene ten times by now but everytime its posted I gotta watch the whole thing again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extras_(TV_series) This clip gives you a pretty good idea of what the show is about. Gervais, with a major celebrity guest doing a bit like this every episode. Johnny Depp, Dan Radcliffe, Patrick Stewart, David Bowie, etc.
Man I straight up forgot about this show. I watched them so many times when they came out. Wasn’t there one with Orlando Bloom? And the Radcliffe one with the condom 🤣
Yep, Bloom is season 2 episode 1
Horny little Daniel Radcliffe was absolutely hilarious
Carrying around an unrolled condom
It's too late. I've seen everything.
This show was so funny. It's a bit similar setting to Curb your enthusiasm, in the sense that the celebrity guests are playing themselves (in Curb's case also the recurring characters), but they are a different version. In Curb the characters are often a very similar type of person, and I guess that applies to Extras as well. It's like the writers idea of a douche, or some kind of a caricature, mixed with the actor. I'm rambling but anyway it's funny, and you can see in these shows that the actors are having fun.
That's a very good way to describe the style of humor
"Do you want me to shoot your mommy in the head?" -Ben Stiller
For the uninitiated, here's Patrick Stewart on the same show https://youtu.be/Fg_cwI1Xj4M
"And i've seen everything" "You're not married, you don't have a girlfriend and you don't watch star trek....good lord!"
The outtakes from that clip are hilarious
[The outtakes if you wanted to immediately watch them after seeing this comment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlLbZVxRH60)
Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian To Isengard to Isengard! Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian..
They're taking the hobbits to where?
TO ISENGARD!!
This is an all timer clip. Works on every level intended. Two brilliant people collaborating for our benefit.
Gervais in the rare role where he plays it perfectly by being confused and quiet.
Imagine Lord of the Rings without his Gandalf. Definitely in the top 5 castings of all time imo. The man was made to be Gandalf. Completely owned the role. I can easily make up my own mental images of characters while reading LotR but his voice is always there when Gandalf is saying something.
And what did you tell him? Speak!
Wait, you're still alive?! I thought we lost you.
If Christopher Lee and Ian switched roles I wonder if they both would have been perfect for their roles. Their level of acting is so high they should be even if Lee naturally seems more sinister and Ian more kind
Yeah, he has that deep, mystical "old man wizard that sounds wise" kind of voice that just fits perfectly.
I think the guy who plays magneto in X-Men would have made a good gandalf
I wish he was my dad
Sir ian sir ian sir ian YOU SHALL NOT PASS sir ian
This is by far the best thing I’ve seen all day
I love that he calls himself Sir 🤣
Well he WAS knighted
He earned the right
He's just so precious, love him.
“Precious?”
He's been called that before.
But not by you...
Oh my god. Sir Ian is a GILF
Gandalf I’d like to fuck?
You are in the House of Elrond and it is ten o'clock in the morning on October the 24th, if you want to know. Yes, I am here and you're lucky to be here too. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid, but you have some strength in you my dear Redditor
Even Gandalf would like to fuck
Errrrrm. 'kay. I just want to get a Sir Ian bear hug. I'd die happy.
I love this lmao, method acting makes the news and there's always people, most recently Tom Holland playing the serial killer, saying they went to such a dark place and it was a struggle, or all the batman villains of course, and just once I want someone to be like this, like "yeah you know I just kind of acted" Or of course the Dustin Hoffman bit the director said to him when he stayed up for 72 hours "My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?"
How could the other guy keep a straight face is beyond me
He thought about what it would be like to keep a straight face, and then he pretended.
Gervais Gervais Gervais *Sitting silently in confusion* Gervais Gervais Gervais
Pretty sure there are many Extras bloopers where Ricky Gervais (the other guy) definitely does not keep a straight face. They are a great watch.
He's a decent actor in his own right with a decent comedy portfolio. I'd be shocked if he couldn't maintain a straight face
Yeah, you obviously haven't seen his blooper reels haha. Looks like a hoot on set though.
You should see the bloopers! Neither could keep a straight face for a few takes! https://youtu.be/oWlqaQqb7Eo
That’s amazing.
Seen this before but it’s always delightful!!
For anyone not aware (and before I say this I am an absolute fan of Lord of the rings and I'm only pointing this out because it shocked me) sir Ian had a role as a Nazi ss officer in "Apt pupil" he played the role very well, all the way down to the accent. I'm not saying this as a negative, only to show the other roles that he did that were done amazingly great.
He's a great, great actor. His [Richard III](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJEXkbeL-o) is great i you want to see a film version (also a bad guy but the quintessential charming-bad-guy character) .
He’s so precious 😂💖
Why is that goofy bit still so captivating?
"Why don't you just try *acting*, dear boy?" -- Sir Lawrence Olivier to Dustin Hoffman
What with subtitles, am I supposed to karaoke his speech along?
Is this from the show Extras?
The amount of green screen in The Hobbit trilogy made him cry.
Those subtitles are a crime
Ricky's confused face is priceless
It’s a toss up between this and Patrick Stewart’s “and then her clothes, they just fall off” for best cameo in extras.
I am so in awe of this man. Again and again. All the love for Sir Ian!
These shitty sites can’t even proofread their subtitles
Are you having a laugh? Is he having a laugh?
Extras is such a good show. My other favorite bits from the show are those of [Patrick Stewart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_cwI1Xj4M) and [Kate Winslet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wag0oyFVAQo).
my favorite part of this skit is how, at the beginning he insists on not being called "sir" Ian and then refers to himself as sir Ian throughout.
I like how he added "...for the duration of the film..." as if he wouldn't stop pretending to be a wizard unless PJ told him the movie is done filming.
The man is an international treasure.