Sir Ian McKellen Disagrees With Those Scathing Cats Reviews

Sir Ian McKellen has revealed he finally got the chance to watch himself in Cats – and he doesn’t quite understand what all the hate was about.

The six-time Olivier winner was among the star-studded cast of Tom Hooper’s ill-fated adaptation of the classic stage musical, which was savaged by critics upon its release in 2019.

Back in 2024, Sir Ian claimed that he’d still not had the chance to watch Cats all the way through, but during a more recent interview with Magic, he revealed he’d recently been won over by the movie when he caught it by mistake.

“The other day, I did chance upon myself singing in the film of Cats,” he recalled. “And I played through the song and I thought, ‘well, that’s better than what most people thought of the film – what was wrong with that?’.”

When the interviewer pointed out that she “didn’t hate Cats”, he responded: “Who knows – maybe other people will be allowed to discover it.”

“But,” the Oscar nominee continued. “I did make the mistake of reading the comments after.

“I’m my own worst, or best, critic. There are very, very few performances I’ve given that I would give a big tick to.”

During an interview with USA Today, Sir Ian said that he and co-star Dame Judi Dench had a “lovely time” making Cats.

He claimed at the time: “I haven’t actually seen the complete version of the film – I saw it before we had ears and tails put on.

“It probably would’ve been better if they hadn’t had those additions.”

Sir Ian was previously full of praise for Cats when he told his social media followers that he’d watched a “final cut” in December 2019.

The Lord Of The Rings star wrote on Facebook: “A confession: I’ve never been a fan of cats. Dogs for me every time, to look at and be friends with. But I’ve just seen the final cut of the imminent Cats movie and I’m a convert.”

Other members of the Cats cast have been less effusive about the film, with James Corden and Rebel Wilson raising eyebrows at the 2020 Oscars when they appeared on stage dressed as their characters to mock the movie’s special effects – getting on the wrong side the Visual Effects Society in the process.