If you were in New York attending one of the midnight screenings of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug recently, you may have had quite the guest show up: Sir Ian McKellen himself.

McKellen, who plays Gandalf in all of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies, showed up before the screening to say a few words to the understandably excited crowd.

You can see a video of McKellen’s arrival and short speech below.

Video

[Source: via io9]