Ian McKellen’s Beard in Troye Sivan’s ‘Party’ Video Is Not a Middle-earth Reveal

The actor recorded the opening monologue for Troye Sivan’s medieval-themed visual, separate from his return as Gandalf in The Hunt for Gollum.

The bearded Ian McKellen currently making the rounds online is not a leaked image from The Hunt for Gollum. It comes from a different kind of fantasy: a Troye Sivan music video.

McKellen recorded the opening monologue for “Party,” a track from Sivan’s forthcoming fourth album, She’s the Best. In the video, Sivan plays a battle-worn warrior arriving back at camp for a celebration. McKellen sets the scene in a grand register: “The conquest is nearly over. Fires blaze from one end of the realm to another. But what is victory, if not celebrated! For at long last… a party.”

ComicBook.com reported that the actor recorded the passage for the visual. The beard that has understandably drawn attention among Middle-earth fans belongs to this pop-video role,