UNIVERSAL CITY (California) - IAN McKellen says his on-stage 'King Lear' nude scene is discreetly avoided in the upcoming public television version of the play.

A public TV executive said on Wednesday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association that the decision to forgo full-frontal nudity by McKellen was made by Trevor Nunn, director of the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production that airs March 25.

McKellen said audiences can be distracted when an actor or actress strips. The British actor, 70, of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'X-Men' films fame, said cutting the nudity left the production's quality unaffected. -- AP