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Topics: Lord Of The Rings, TV and Film, UK News, Weird, Celebrity
Claire Reid
Topics: Lord Of The Rings, TV and Film, UK News, Weird, Celebrity
A bloke who was out celebrating his birthday dressed as Gandalf on a Lord of the Rings themed pub crawl happened to bump into Sir Ian McKellen. Never tell me the odds.
Tolkein fan Ben Coyles decided to mark his 22nd year on the planet by holding a Lord of the Rings themed shin-dig with his pals and chose to dress himself as the legendary wizard. You can see footage of the two men meeting here:
But imagine his surprise while walking the streets of Bristol to run into none other than Gandalf the Great himself: Sir Ian McKellen.
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Despite his initial surprise, Ben was able to snap a photo of himself with the Hollywood star, who took the whole thing in his stride.
Ben, a music student at the University of Bristol, said: "So it was really bizarre, it was my 22nd birthday, and we were on a pub crawl.
"Me and all my mates were walking down the street and I heard behind me 'do you want to meet the real Gandalf?'
"I didn't recognise him immediately then I was like 'OH MY GOD IT'S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!'"
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He continued: "Everybody said 'what on Earth is going on?!'
"He asked me how old I was and said happy birthday and shook my hand.
"I was flabbergasted, I had no idea what to do or say.
"We had zero idea that he was walking down that street.
"If I was 10-20 metres ahead of him it wouldn't have happened, the planets aligned.
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"He's a really lovely sound bloke, an excellent guy, nice, down to Earth and humble and I'd like to buy him a drink."
Student Felix Spencer, 21, who filmed the moment, said: "We had no idea he would be there.
"We were on our penultimate pub when someone comes up to me and asks me if we would like our Gandalf to meet the real Gandalf.
"So I turn around and assume it’s going to be someone pulling my leg but when I turn round Sir Ian McKellen is right there.
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"So I shout out to Ben so that he could have a chance to talk with him and get some pictures together."
Their friend Scarlet Learmonth added: "A few of us were aware of his nearby events, but never imagined to bump into him."
Sir Ian McKellen had been in Bristol to perform pantomime Mother Goose, alongside comedian John Bishop, at the Bristol Hippodrome.