McKellen and Coel spar in Soderbergh's 'The Christophers'

Soderbergh’s film has explored art, identity and restoration

FILE PHOTO: Ian McKellen attends the world premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" in London, Britain, Dec 3, 2024. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo

British actors Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel clash and conspire in Steven Soderbergh's new art world-set comedy drama "The Christophers".

McKellen portrays Julian Sklar, a famed painter who has fallen from grace and withdrawn into his sprawling London home and studio.

Seeking to secure an inheritance, Sklar's estranged children, played by James Corden and Jessica Gunning, scheme to get a series of his storied, unfinished portraits titled "The Christophers" completed before his passing.

They recruit skilled art restorer Lori Butler (Coel) to pose as Sklar's new assistant, and secretly finish the paintings, abandoned in Sklar's attic, in his style.

The ageing artist soon catches onto the plan and the two go head-to-head trying to outsmart one another.

Attending the film's London premiere with his co-stars on Tuesday, McKellen called Coel a "wonderful sparring partner".

Coel is best known for creating and starring in British television series "I May Destroy You"."She has to do a lot of listening while my character goes on and on and on," McKellen said.

"It's wonderful to see her very still face absorbing what I'm going to say. And I was wondering all the time about what she was actually thinking.

“When is it my turn to speak? We got on so well on and off the screen, I hope we do something else soon,” he said.

The 86-year-old actor said aspects of his character Sklar were easy to relate to.

“We have a number of things in common. We like the arts. We are in our 80s. We live by ourselves. We're gay,” McKellen said.

“It’s about lots of things that I care about, it’s about the arts, it’s about London, I think, as well. And London looks beautiful in the film.”

Directed by Black Bag, Traffic and Erin Brokovich filmmaker Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ed Solomon, The Christophers sees Sklar and Butler shift between foes and unlikely allies.

“The art of restoration, and by that I mean restoring yourself, they both have to do that in their individual ways, and I think one can’t do that without the other,” Coel said.

“They are in one ecosystem and for one to thrive, the other has to thrive, is a beautiful thing.”

The Christophers is out in US theatres now and opens in UK and Irish cinemas on May 15.