Tolkien fan doing birthday bar crawl dressed as Gandalf bumps into Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen

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A Tolkien superfan dressed as Gandalf got the birthday surprise of his life when he bumped into Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen on a pub crawl.

A Tolkien superfan celebrating his birthday dressed as Gandalf got the shock of his life when he bumped into none other than Sir Ian McKellen. Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd birthday when he ran into the man who played the part of the iconic wizard in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Ben was with a group of friends celebrating his birthday in Bristol on April 13 when they turned onto Corn Street just before midnight and spotted Sir Ian. In disbelief, Ben managed to get a picture with his hero.

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Student Felix Spencer, 21, who filmed the moment, said: "We had no idea he would be there. We were on our penultimate pub when someone comes up to me and asks me if we would like our Gandalf to meet the real Gandalf.

"So I turn around and assume it’s going to be someone pulling my leg but when I turn round Sir Ian McKellen is right there. So I shout out to Ben so that he could have a chance to talk with him and get some pictures together."

Their friend Scarlet Learmonth said: "A few of us were aware of his nearby events, but never imagined bumping into him." McKellen was performing at the Bristol Hippodrome on April 14 for the pantomime "Mother Goose" with comedian John Bishop.

Ben, a music student at the University of Bristol, said: "So it was really bizarre, it was my 22nd birthday, and we were on a pub crawl. Me and all my mates were walking down the street and I heard behind me ‘do you want to meet the real Gandalf?’

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"I didn’t recognise him immediately then I was like ‘OH MY GOD IT’S SIR IAN MCKELLEN!’. Everybody said ‘what on earth is going on?!’

Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd birthday dressed as Gandalf when he ran into Sir Ian McKellen who played the part of the iconic wizard in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd birthday dressed as Gandalf when he ran into Sir Ian McKellen who played the part of the iconic wizard in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd birthday dressed as Gandalf when he ran into Sir Ian McKellen who played the part of the iconic wizard in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. | SWNS

"He asked me how old I was and said happy birthday and shook my hand. I was flabbergasted, I had no idea what to do or say.

"We had zero idea that he was walking down that street. If I was 10-20 metres ahead of him it wouldn’t have happened, the planets aligned.

"He’s a really lovely sound bloke, an excellent guy, nice, down to earth and humble and I’d like to buy him a drink."

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