Sir Ian McKellen

They say: don’t meet your idols — because you risk disappointment, because the myth might fade. But I beg to differ.
I don’t get starstruck very often, but the importance these gentlemen have in my life is beyond words.
I remember every single detail of the day The Lord of the Rings first launched. '’I was there'’ standing in line with friends just as nerdy as me, and when the film opened with Cate Blanchett’s voice, I won’t lie — a tear rolled down. We cheered, we shouted, we lost ourselves in every frame that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, the cast, and the crew gave us.
The love they poured into those movies is the reason I became an author. I’ve watched The Fellowship of the Ring — and every other film — hundreds of times (especially the Extended Editions!) on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray. I will never stop loving every single detail.
This moment was not just about meeting actors whose craft I admire. It was about thanking the people whose work shaped my very path in life.
Thank you, Monopoly Events — and especially @clarke_ar, Emma, and Andy — for giving me the honour of meeting Sir Ian McKellen and handing him a gift that only exists because of him.
I love you, sir.
I love all of you who poured your souls into those films. There’s a reason that more than twenty years later, your names make headlines the moment you step on a stage, and why we — your fans — cheer for you every second you’re with us.
It’s the humans behind the characters.
God bless you all. I was there, and as Bilbo once said, I hope to go there and back again.