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

Émile

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

Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories

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

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

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

A Passage to Middle-Earth: Making of '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

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

Self (archive footage)

A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'

Himself

Guerrilla Distribution

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

155

Gender

Male

Birthday

1939-05-25

Place of Birth

Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK

Also Known As

Иэн МакКеллен