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WATCH: Will Ian McKellen Marry Derek Jacobi?

WATCH: Will Ian McKellen Marry Derek Jacobi?

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Actually, the two great gay actors aren't engaged, but Thomas Roberts had the impression they were.

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Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi are both acclaimed British actors, are both gay, and have both received knighthoods -- but they're not interchangeable, nor are they engaged, as a confused Thomas Roberts thought Friday.

The out MSNBC anchor spoke by phone with the two actors, who were in a car in New York City, where they will be among the grand marshals of the Pride parade Sunday. They first discussed the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, with McKellen telling Roberts that on Pride weekend in New York, "there are going to be an awful lot of men kneeling in front of other men saying, 'Please, will you marry me,' and women doing the same thing."

Then Jacobi got on and discussed the importance of marriage equality and his own plans to marry, after which Roberts asked him, "When do you return as Magneto in X-Men?" He replied with a laugh, "I don't play Magneto in X-Men. That is Ian McKellen. You're actually talking to Derek Jacobi."

When McKellen got back on the phone, Roberts said, "I was speaking to your fiance. I thought I was speaking to you." Soon, McKellen clarified, "He's not my fiance, but would he were. ... Derek and I work in a wonderful show called Vicious, which is about two old gay men living in London for the last 50 years."

Roberts took it in apparent good humor. Perhaps he was confused by an adorable BuzzFeed video in which Jacobi proposed to McKellen, but in reality, Jacobi is in a civil partnership with actor Richard Clifford, and they plan to be married soon. England has had marriage equality for a few years.

Watch Roberts's report plus a couple of celebratory McKellen-Jacobi BuzzFeed videos below.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.