Sir Ian McKellen is one of Britain's greatest actors, acclaimed for his King Lear and Macbeth on stage and for his film portrayal of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a role he's about to reprise in the The Hobbit.

He talks to HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur about why he's looking forward to playing Gandalf the Grey.

You can watch the full interview on the BBC News Channel on Thursday 18th February 2010 at 04.30 and 23.30 GMT.

And on BBC World News at 04:30, 09:30, 15:30, 21:30 GMT.