Ian McKellan refused a $1.5 million offer to officiate Sean Parker's wedding
According to a new interview with The Daily Mail, Ian McKellan, who plays Gandalf in the LOTR movies, was offered the massive sum to officiate the Napster founder and Facebook billionaire's over-the-top wedding to singer-songwriter Alexandra Lenas in 2013. He almost agreed until he was told he's have to go dressed as Gandalf.
"So I said, 'I am sorry, Gandalf doesn't do weddings,'" McKellan told The Daily Mail.
Parker's extraordinarily lavish wedding made headlines at the time, since he reportedly spent $4.5 million to create a magical world at a campsite in Big Sur, California, complete with goats, a pen of bunnies, a pony, a feast laid on top of white fur and a 9-foot-tall wedding cake. Guests were provided with Tolkien-style "modern and whimsical" costumes made especially for the ceremony by Academy Award-winning designer Ngila Dickson.
Parker faced backlash after the event, since he installed temporary structures in an ecologically sensitive area without obtaining the correct permits from the California Coastal Commission. He later agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with the commission.