There's now a plaque to commemorate where Ian McKellen ate a potato

It's a moment that will never be forgotten.
 By 
Marissa Wenzke
 on 
There's now a plaque to commemorate where Ian McKellen ate a potato
"All we have to decide is what to do with the potato that is given to us." Credit: New Line/Saul Z/REX/Shutterstock

Sir Ian McKellen was spotted eating a potato at Liverpool University.

There for a speaking event, his eating habits may not have seemed like a huge deal to some. But the student guild was so delighted, they had a plaque made to commemorate the moment McKellen ate a baked potato on their humble campus, located at table five of The Sphinx bar.

The decorated English actor's probably best known for his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. But he's also a committed activist for the LGBTQ community, having been openly gay since 1988. He showed up to Liverpool University on Friday to give a talk on LGBTQ rights, as The Tab reports.

He spoke about sexuality and gender labels, discussing the importance of coming out. For him, that moment in his life was so important, he said he would like his gravestone to read: "Here lies Gandalf, I came out."

Then, at some point, he decided to have a little snack, a "jacket potato" as the Brits call it, or basically just a baked potato.

And if you believe the tweets, quite a few people stopped to sit and watch him eat that much-discussed potato.

Within days, that special moment was celebrated with a blue plaque right at the scene of the potato-eating. It also paid tribute to McKellen's drinking of a latte in the same spot.

It probably goes without saying some students were pretty stoked on this new development.

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Marissa Wenzke

Marissa is a real-time news intern at the LA office. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She's a free spirit.

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