KEY POINTS:
Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen is determined to brave the worst of New Zealand's weather and visit North Island beauty spots next week.
The 68-year-old actor, who played Gandalf the wizard in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, says he wants to visit the Bay of Islands and the Coromandel Peninsula.
He says he likes New Zealand because people here aren't entirely focused on making money.
"Making money is not the most important thing in life. There's a confidence that life is about personal fulfilment and the relationship with the country and other people in the countryside. That you can lose sight of in Europe."
Yesterday, McKellen, who is in New Zealand with the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of King Lear and The Seagull, had his handprint taken.
It will feature on a "wall of fame" at the Hoyts Cinema Complex in Sylvia Park alongside those of actors such as Cliff Curtis and Oliver Driver.
McKellen played three sold-out performances of King Lear and one performance of The Seagull in Wellington. King Lear's Auckland season, which is sold out, opens tonight at the Aotea Centre. There are still tickets left for The Seagull.
McKellen visited Orakei Marae yesterday. "I just wish I had a bit more time to go to some favourite spots. But I'm determined to get up north of Auckland on my free day whatever the weather, and maybe over to the Coromandel."
But he said he was not here on holiday. "We are doing 10 performances in Auckland, so that's it basically. There are occasional days off, but I just rest really."
