ACTOR Sir Ian McKellen says he finds his knighthood is an "oddity" - although he says it comes in handy when he is trying to impress people.

The former Bolton School pupil and star of blockbuster movies Lord of the Rings, Da Vinci Code and X-Men, says he rarely uses the title except in certain circumstances. "Like when suggesting someone for a knighthood or if I were writing to the Prime Minister," 67-year-old Sir Ian said.

He received the honour in 1991 for his outstanding contribution to the theatre but he says he is unsure as to whether or not he should have accepted it. He said: "I am very pleased to have the knighthood, I should say, and I am not careless of the honour but it is an oddity in our society and it would be better if we didn't have titles and so on those grounds, I probably should have turned it down."