President Donald Trump’s Florida residence was an inspiration for X-Men actor Sir Ian McKellen while filming an action sequence in the latest installment of the Avengers movie franchise. The longtime British actor admitted he shouted “Mar-a-Lago” to appear enraged during a scene in Avengers: Doomsday.
While speaking to a crowd at the “Il Cinema in Piazza” festival in Rome, Italy, McKellan said the movie’s directors, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, advised McKellan to “look more furious” in a scene where he reprised his villainous X-Men character, Magneto, who unleashed his mutant powers and caused significant destruction.
“They got me at one point to destroy New Jersey,” said McKellan. But the directors wanted more rage and anger out of him. They asked him to do something to channel his character’s fury.
“They told me to look more furious, make it look as if you hate what you’re destroying,” said McKellen to the Italian crowd.
“So I stood there, and I shouted: ‘Mar-a-Lago!’” as he reenacted the scene for the audience.
Mar-a-Lago is a resort and private club in Palm Beach, Florida. It has been owned by Trump since 1985. During both his terms as president, Trump has used the venue to host events, and it has been dubbed the “Winter White House” by many political commentators.
McKellan, 87, is a longtime prominent actor who has appeared onstage and on the silver screen. His career spans seven decades, with him debuting in theater in the 1960s in the United Kingdom and on the television adaptation of David Copperfield, which debuted on the BBC in 1966. He is arguably best known for his roles as the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movie franchise and the aforementioned Magneto in Marvel’s X-Men movies.
McKellan is the second actor this week to make comments criticizing Trump. During Sunday’s “Rise Up, Sing Out” concert in New York City, actor Robert De Niro said that Trump’s presidency has made it impossible to love his country.
“The phrase, ‘We all love our country,’ stuck in my throat,” said De Niro. “Because our country isn’t so lovable right now. I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.”
“I can’t love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more,” De Niro said. “I can’t love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class.”
