Sir Ian McKellen

You shall not pass…up the chance to hear from a living legend of stage and screen. We sit down with beloved actor Sir Ian McKellen to talk about aging, American politics and his work as a LGBTQ+ rights activist. Back on screens in The Critic, McKellen reveals he’s still feeling the effects of a nasty on-stage fall in June. Even so, he’s planning his return to Middle-earth, reprising his iconic role as Gandalf in a film series: “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!”

More highlights in this edition:

• The Big Issue’s own Street Socceroos are ready to kick goals at the Homeless World Cup: get to know our players before they take on the world in Seoul.
• FBoy Island’s Abbie Chatfield shares the dating tips she wishes she’d known earlier and gives a shout out to her gregarious gran in Letter to My Younger Self.
• In The Big Picture, Jarrad Seng’s photography series tells the stories of hope and resilience from people on their path out of homelessness.
• We interview star James McAvoy on the unrecognisably scary dad he plays in horror movie Speak No Evil.
• Author Markus Zusak took inspiration from his unruly pets for new memoir Three Wild Dogs, which he tells us was “faster and smaller” to write than any of his other projects.
• Melbourne dance-punk act Gut Health are anxious to step things up on their debut record Stiletto.
• In Tastes Like Home, Anthony Yotis and Laura di Florio Yotis cook up the perfect summer entree: a Cherry Tomato and Crab Pasta designed for your holiday dinner table.