Sir Ian McKellen has performed Harvey Milk’s Hope speech.

Milk’s speech was first delivered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall and encouraging people to celebrate their differences and offering hope for the future.

McKellen’s performance is one of several inspirations speeches that have been preformed by well known actors as part of a digital film program called Figures of Speech by Britain’s Almeida Theatre.

In the speech Milk spoke about the importance of gay people having their own leaders in politics, arguing that gay people should not rely on friends of their community to represent them but rather be politically involved themselves.

Milk delivered the speech on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall as he address the 1978 Gay Freedom Day. Milk, who was the world first gay publicly elected official, was murdered by a fellow representative just five months later.

Sir Ian McKellen spoke to OUTinPerth about his own activism back in 2010. Speaking to Amy Henderson about his performance in the play Waiting for Godot, McKellen recounted his work as an activist in the United Kingdom.