Ian McKellen took inspiration for his role in X-Men: The Last Stand from society's treatment of homosexuals because he was made to feel like an inferior outsider. The star has been openly gay since the 1980s, and he takes exception to the common assumption that homosexuals can be 'cured.' So he channeled his fury into the role of Magneto.

Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday McKellen vented, "As a gay man, some people think that it ought to be cured and made normal again and I find it as offensive as someone saying that they have a cure for the color of their skin. This particular story was close to my heart; it has an important message to young people who may for one reason or another be disaffected with society because society points at their differences and says that they're inferior to the rest of us."

In Brett Ratner's third installment of the comic book adaptation, McKellen's character leads the evil mutant's struggle against government plans to introduce a cure for their conditions.

Check out some sweet "X-Men: The Last Stand" photos.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)