Ian McKellan Talks The Hobbit

"I'm having supper with Guillermo del Toro this evening," McKellan said in a group interview on Jan. 8 in Universal City, Calif. "You're asking me about 12 hours too early."

Preproduction on The Hobbit is underway. "I've been promised I am [going to be involved]," McKellan said while promoting his upcoming AMC miniseries The Prisoner. "And as Guillermo del Toro's directing it, I should be so lucky. And in New Zealand, a place I love, so it's almost an ideal job for me."

Though it may have been too long since McKellan's last book report to quote specific passages from The Hobbit, he still can't wait to speak wizard again. "He's got the best lines, hasn't he?" McKellan asked.