Ian McKellen appeared on The View last week to promote AMC’s upcoming mini-series The Prisoner. After a tense exchange about British health care with a typically-uninformed Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Whoopi asked if the actor would be back in Harry Potter.

“Maybe if I were Michael Gambon,” Sir Ian said.

But a chagrined Whoopi later made up for the embarrassing gaffe by asking a cheeky, but long-overdue Lord of the Rings-related question: will we ever see a black hobbit?

McKellen also mentioned that he has not yet signed a contract for The Hobbit.