What people like is honesty... My film career took off once I came out.

No male actor has won more Olivier Awards — the highest honor in British theater — than seven-time recipient Sir Ian McKellen. The 82-year-old has also anchored such popular big-screen franchises as X-Men, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, meaning McKellen’s films have earned more than $10 billion at the worldwide box office. He attributes a good deal of this international success to “the best thing I ever did”: publicly coming out as a gay man during a 1988 BBC radio interview. Afterward, McKellen felt more comfortable in his own skin, and that freedom led to better work. When reflecting on the life-changing announcement, McKellen concluded that people respond to authenticity. Being true to yourself is the first step toward connecting with others.