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18th April 2023
01:24pm BST
A man out on a birthday bar crawl dressed as Gandalf was left "flabbergasted" when he bumped into the wizard himself, Sir Ian McKellan.
Tolkien super fan Ben Coyles was out marking his 22nd on a Lord of the Rings-themed crawl when he ran into the man who played the part.
Ben was with a group of friends celebrating his birthday in Bristol when they turned onto Corn Street just before midnight on April 13 and saw the legendary actor.
In disbelief, Ben managed to get a picture with his hero.
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 to bump 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.
"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?!'
"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."
Sir Ian played Gandalf in all six of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.
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