X-Men Star Ian McKellen Catfished by Russian Comedians

By Nathaniel Brail

Ian McKellen has to be one of the most friendly actors in Hollywood, so when he was recently invited to participate in a private discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was elated. The X-Men star decided to check with his contacts in Ukraine to see if this could possibly be legit, and they encouraged the actor to take the call. McKellen would go on to chat with who he assumed was the Ukrainian President, but he would soon find out that this was one massive catfish. The actor took to Twitter and released a statement on the occurrence, and it turns out this was all one big prank from Russian comedians. You can check out the statement below.

"I'm not a politician, so I was surprised some weeks ago to receive a message that appeared to come from the Ukrainian Embassy in London, inviting me to participate in 'a private discussion with President Zelensky'. I checked with a couple of contacts in Ukraine who encouraged me to take the call," McKellen wrote. "At the appointed time, I found myself chat-ting, apparently, with the President of Ukraine. As it soon turned out, it was not Zelensky or any Ukrainian official, but one of a pair of Russians who call themselves comedians. understand they're popular in Russia, which is surprising because their jokes aren't funny. I played along with things they suggested but was frankly bewildered that they seemed to think I might be in a position to provide substantial aid to Ukraine. Once I realized it was all just a dirty trick, I declined to cooperate any further."

McKellen hasn't returned to his X-Men role in quite some time but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding and has even brought back the actor's longtime friend Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. During the film, Professor Xavier takes on the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who in the comics is the daughter of Magneto, where he meets his demise. During a recent interview with Geek Culture, Olsen gave the site her choice of who could play Magneto for Marvel Studios. "Oh... [laughs] I'm gonna go with Sir Ian McKellen," Olsen revealed. "I had the biggest crush on him. He's in these videos called Playing Shakespeare where actors get together and they do a Shakespeare… It's a video series. He's like the sexiest man in the world so I would say Sir Ian McKellen." McKellen apparently read the interview and replied to Olsen via Facebook: "If I had a daughter, I'd hope she'd be like Elizabeth. A treat to be her Daddy!"

Marvel Studios describes Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as follows: "To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers' most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange."

The film is directed by the legendary Sam Rami and will star Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters everywhere!

What would you think about Ian McKellen returning to play Magneto? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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