Sir Ian McKellen, renowned for his roles in The Lord of the Rings and the X-Men series, has described the difficulty of lip-syncing the voice of celebrated English artist LS Lowry in the upcoming BBC documentary LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes. The immersive film, produced by Arts Arena, features McKellen portraying Lowry nearly 50 years after the artist’s death, using previously unheard recordings of Lowry’s conversations.
The documentary captures the voice of Lowry speaking with Angela Barratt, who interviewed him as a young admirer, covering events from Lowry’s childhood to his final days. McKellen’s involvement brings a physical dimension to these recordings, combining his performance with Lowry’s preserved voice.
Challenges Faced by McKellen in Lip-Syncing LS Lowry’s Voice
Sir Ian McKellen has expressed unexpected struggles in matching his mouth movements to the recorded voice of LS Lowry. Lip-syncing required precise synchronization with the sound, and McKellen found this aspect to be demanding. Reflecting on the process, he said,
“I’m surprised to discover the most challenging aspect of lip syncing is making your mouth fit the recorded words. It ain’t easy. I don’t find it easy.”
McKellen’s concern extended beyond mere lip movement; he questioned whether his facial expressions were sufficiently capturing Lowry’s character throughout the performance.
He acknowledged the expertise of his co-star Annabel Smith, who recorded sentences incrementally to achieve a perfect fit. McKellen admitted,
“I’d be very interested to see what it looks like and I know what it sounds like, but am I doing enough with my face, am I doing too little? I don’t know.”
Adding to this reflection, McKellen remarked,
“It’s a skill which I don’t think you conquer just on one attempt. But I wanted to do it not just because of my interest in Lowry, but because I thought it would be fun, rather late in my career to have a new ability.”
Insight into LS Lowry’s Voice and Personality from the Recordings
The tapes reveal Lowry’s voice carrying unexpected inflections, as McKellen noted. Unlike actors who carefully stress particular words to convey clear meaning, Lowry’s speech patterns sometimes confused emphasis, which McKellen found intriguing. He explained,
“What’s surprising about these Lowry tapes is that he gets the inflection wrong. He doesn’t always stress the right word. An actor is very concerned to do that, so that the sense of what’s being said is clear and the intention behind it is clear.”
McKellen viewed the recordings as more than just words, sensing layers of emotion beneath the surface.
“But it’s been fun for me, beyond the words to perhaps indicate there’s sometimes a twinkle in his eye and a glance to the side that the sound recorders couldn’t have picked up. There’s more going on in these tapes than just the words, I think.”
He further emphasized the full effect when physical presence complements the voice:
“You can tell an awful lot from someone’s voice. Well, when the actor adds the body and the face, then the presentation is complete.”
Personal Reflections on Voice and Legacy
McKellen also shared his deep appreciation for how a person’s voice can reveal character details beyond the reach of memory alone. Reflecting on his own family, he said he wished to hear recordings of his mother and father, to learn more about them after their passing.
“Not just to take me back, but because a voice reveals an awful lot about a person and would tell me things that I didn’t get a chance to understand while they were alive. I think the same’s true with hearing these tapes.”
This perspective illustrates the significance of preserving voices, especially of significant cultural figures like Lowry.
Ian McKellen’s Connection to LS Lowry as an Artist and Individual
McKellen expressed a personal connection to Lowry that goes beyond his famous status as a painter. The actor pointed out Lowry’s love of the theatre, ballet, and pantomime, interests that resonate with McKellen’s own artistic life.
“And I think that’s reflected more than people perhaps realise in the paintings and drawings.”
He affirmed the artistic importance of Lowry’s work, stating,
“I think what’s revealed from these tapes is that he did very much to his work, his paintings. He was a great artist.”
Details and Broadcast Information for the Documentary
The hour-long BBC Arena documentary will also examine the industrial landscape of Salford and Greater Manchester, areas that played a vital role in Lowry’s art and life. This setting provides historical and cultural context, highlighting the dramatic changes in the region that shaped much of Lowry’s work.
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes will air on BBC Two and be available on iPlayer at 9pm on February 25.
