Watch: The moment Sir Ian McKellen met his Gandalf Sesame Street puppet

No, the world didn’t implode, but the entire event – captured on Vine for all to see – did make us laugh profusely.

Ever wondered what would happen if Sir Ian McKellen actually came face-to-face with himself (OK, fine, Gandalf) in puppet form?

Ever wondered what would happen if Sir Ian McKellen actually came face-to-face with himself (OK, fine, Gandalf) in puppet form?

No, the world didn’t implode, but the entire event – captured on Vine for all to see – did make us laugh profusely.

Scroll down to watch the video

Fans of the Lord of the Rings actor can watch as he is greeted by the yellow, bearded Sesame Street puppet before entering Mr Hooper’s fictional shop.

McKellen’s appearance marks the latest in a series of hilarious spoofs run by the children’s show, including the sheep-themed “Homelamb” and “The Hungry Games”, starring Cookiness Ever-eat (that’s the Cookie Monster as Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Katniss Everdeen, in case you needed a reference).

In time for the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Friday, creators have run with the JRR Tolkein reference for the show this week, which airs on Thursday 12 December.

McKellen hit the headlines earlier this week for blasting comments made by Damian Lewis.

The Homeland actor recently said that when he was in his 20s, he became concerned that if he didn’t break out of the theatre in time, he “would be one of these slightly over-the-top, fruity actors who would have an illustrious career on stage, but wouldn't start getting any kind of film work until I was 50 and then start playing wizards.”

Speaking to the Radio Times, McKellen responded to Lewis’ remarks, telling the publication: “So he feels sorry for me, does he? Well I'm very happy, he needn't worry about me.”

The X-Men actor went on to describe Lewis’ statement as “a fair comment”, before adding: “To rebut it: I wouldn't like to have been one of those actors who hit stardom quite early on and expected it to continue and was stuck doing scripts that I didn't particularly like just to keep the income up.

“I've always wanted to get better as an actor. And I have got better. You've only got to see my early work to see that.

“As for a fruity voice? Well, it may be a voice that is trained like an opera singer's voice: to fill a large space. It is unnatural. Actors have to be heard and their voice may therefore develop a sonorous quality that they can't quite get rid of, so you think actors are as pompous as their voice is large. I suppose Damian was thinking of that a little bit, too.”

Read the rest of the story here and view the Vine of Sir Ian McKellen meeting himself (Gandalf) below: