He is 84 years old, we all know and adore him for his roles as Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, Magneto in X-Men or the disgusting old man in Apt Pupi. The gray-haired Sir Ian McKellen has given us decades of on-screen happiness with his work. But despite his age, the actor has no plans to hang up his hat, and in a recent interview with Variety he made the following comments:

“Retire to do what?”

“I have never been out of work, but I am aware that at any moment something can happen to me that prevents me from working again. But as long as my knees hold up and my memory is intact, why not continue? I really believe that now I’m pretty good at acting.”

And you can’t blame him. It’s good that you have something to do, even in his old age, to keep his memory fresh. Better that than regretting not taking advantage of your last years doing what you like most.

Do you think Mr. McKellen is right not to retire? What do you think of the retirement of film actors?