In the States he starred opposite Helen Mirren; her role will be played in London by Frances de la Tour, who was last seen on Shaftesbury Avenue in Coward's Fallen Angels. Owen Teale co-stars. The production was a great success in New York, where McKellen is as popular on Broadway as he is in Hollywood, where his role as Gandalf in the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy has given him huge star status.