Sir Ian McKellen revealed his homosexuality back in 1988 and has since become a powerful voice in the LGBT community. What many didn’t expect, however, was for him to declare that gay men are typically more masculine than straight guys due to spending extensive time around others of the same gender.

Despite being widely celebrated and accomplished, McKellen says he is still subjected to hate speech and homophobic abuse. However, the actor says none of that bothers him as he considers himself more masculine than the average guy.

He told Yes magazine: “I think gay men are more masculine than straight men. Because, guess what? They love other men! So when bully boys say, ‘Faggot!’ you say, ‘That’s right, I’m with the boys.'” Needless to say, McKellen is very proud of representing and speaking for fellow gay men around the world.

The 77-year-old star expressed these opinions during a joint interview with Sir Patrick Stewart, as the two are starring together in No Mans Land on London’s West End.

The Lord of the Rings actor has deep admiration and respect for Stewart – who is married to singer Sunny Ozell – and says they are very alike as people.

McKellen, who first met his 76-year-old friend on the set of X-Men back in 2000, said: “What I love about Patrick is that he’s so predictably myself. I think we are the same person. If Patrick comes into a rehearsal room and says, ‘Look, look…’ I know what it’s going to be about.”

Stewart acknowledged his compliment by adding: “I know that I’m in a love affair with Ian.”