Ian McKellen
Biography
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Emmy Awards. McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned five Olivier Awards for his roles in Pillars of the Community (1977), The Alchemist (1978), Bent (1979), Wild Honey (1984), and Richard III (1995). McKellen made his Broadway debut in The Promise (1965). He received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1980). He was further nominated for Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1984). He returned to Broadway in Wild Honey(1986), Dance of Death (1990), No Man's Land (2013), and Waiting for Godot (2013), the latter two being a joint production with Patrick Stewart. McKellen achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III(1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies. Other notable film roles include A Touch of Love (1969), Plenty (1985), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Restoration (1995), Flushed Away (2006), Mr. Holmes (2015), and The Good Liar (2019). McKellen came out as gay in 1988, and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian McKellen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sir Leigh Teabing
The Da Vinci Code
James Whale
Gods and Monsters
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
The Golden Compass
Narrator (voice)
Stardust
Dr. James Kennedy
Swept from the Sea
William
Jack & Sarah
Bill Kraus
And the Band Played On
Geoffrey
Six Degrees of Separation
Gabriel Finch
Neverwas
Richard III
Richard III
The Toad (voice)
Flushed Away
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
Chauvelin
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Zebedee (voice)
Doogal
Dr. Peter Cleave
Asylum
Dr. Reinhardt Lane
The Shadow
John Profumo
Scandal
Amos Starkadder
Cold Comfort Farm
Kurt Dussander
Apt Pupil
Death
Last Action Hero
Dr. Theodore Cuza
The Keep
Macbeth
A Performance of Macbeth
Sir Andrew Charleson
Plenty
Hamlet Within
Emile
Emile
Magneto
X-Men
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
X2
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
X-Men: The Last Stand
Wolf
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
Self
An Evening with Lily Savage
King Lear
King Lear
Zebedee (voice)
The Magic Roundabout
Narrator (voice)
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Tsar Nicholas II
Rasputin
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
D.H. Lawrence
Priest of Love
Aldo Moro (voice)
Gladio
Uncle Freddie
Bent
Percy Corcoran
The Ballad of Little Jo
Roger
Alfred the Great
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Walter
Walter
Richard II
Richard II
Self
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
Narrator
Saint of 9/11
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Continuity Announcer
Schadenfreude
Magneto
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Self
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
George
A Touch of Love
Himself
Theatreland
Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
To Die For
Surviving Friendly Fire
Walter
Walter and June
Self
Muse of Fire
Alexander Ivanov
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Narrator
A Bit Of Scarlet
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
Jimmy Erskine
The Critic
Narrator (voice)
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
The Prologue
Miss in Her Teens
Iago
Othello
Kronfeld
Zina
The Jackdaw
For the Love of God
Narrator (voice)
The One Note Man
Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Hamlet
Hamlet
Sherlock Holmes
Mr. Holmes
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
Narration (voice)
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
Self
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
John Earl McAlpine
I'll Do Anything
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
The Wolverine
Self
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
Animal Crackers
Hamlet
Hamlet
Himself
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Self
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
Self
Quintessentially British
Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Himself
Looking for Lowry
Self (archive footage)
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Self
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
Norman
The Dresser
The Great Intelligence (voice)
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
Lady Grey London
Cogsworth
Beauty and the Beast
King Edward
Edward II
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
Self - Performer
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
The Promise
Self
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
Self
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Will Gates
Restoration
George Tesman
Hedda Gabler
Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
Dragfox
And Even Yet Another Fan
The Roof
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
Self
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
Self
The Art of Breaking Character
Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
Spooner
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
Self
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
Self
Quest for the Ring
Self
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
Narrator (voice)
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
Self
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Roy Courtnay
The Good Liar
Self
The Betty Driver Story
Self
The Paul O'Grady Story
Himself
McKellen: Playing the Part
Gus, the Theatre Cat
Cats
King Lear
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Self
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
Earl of Southampton
All Is True
Augustus Caesar (voice)
David Macaulay: Roman City
Self
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
Self - Narrator (voice)
Edmund the Magnificent
Mr. Kite (voice)
How a Kite Flies
Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Self
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
Magician
The Egg Trick
Self
Hating Peter Tatchell
Jason Anders (voice)
Eighteen
Hamish Miller (voice)
Small-Time Revolutionary
Self
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
King Richard II
The Tragedy of King Richard II
Adolf Hitler
Countdown to War
Self
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
Shakespeare on Film
Self - 'Magneto'
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Dr. Charles Marland-White
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
Self
On Broadway
Scarfe's Follies
Camp Christmas
Julian Sklar
The Christophers
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
Self
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
Narrator
Süleyman the Magnificent
Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
Magneto
Avengers: Doomsday
Dragged Through Time
Self
After Stonewall
Spooner
No Man's Land
Antony Skipling
Dying Day
Himself (archive footage)
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
Himself
Guerrilla Distribution
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Tony
Graceless Go I
Narrator
My First Time
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
Percy
Frank and Percy
Self (archive footage)
Becoming Victoria Wood
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
160
Gender
Male
Birthday
1939-05-25
Place of Birth
Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Also Known As
Sir Ian McKellen