I can remember those times, the actor tells EW.

I had friends who were sent to prison for making love."

Everybodys a critic, they say.

THE CRITIC, from left: Alfred Enoch, Ian McKellen

Alfred Enoch and Ian McKellen in ‘The Critic’.Sean Gleason/Greenwich Entertainment/Everett

Thats the duality played byIan McKellenin new filmThe Critic.

But he doesnt stop at words.

As the plot unfolds, Jimmy also resorts to blackmail and murder when his career and livelihood are threatened.

I’m certainly not playing this as any sort of revenge on critics.

Consciously or not, he’s taking revenge.

I think that makes an otherwise rather melodramatic story ring true.

[The 1930s] were a melodramatic decade.

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But McKellen knows firsthand that those dark decades are closer than they appear in the rearview mirror.

I can remember those times, McKellen says.

It was all inside myself, just waiting to be brought to the surface.

I see the film and I think Good God, what a dreadful man.

But it didnt feel like that when I was playing him.

I thought he was just getting on with his life.

But its not all doom and gloom.

Theres an upside to this character as well.

Playing Jimmy, McKellen gets to unleash some truly withering witticisms.

The Criticis in limited release now.