Ian McKellen
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, and he has been nominated 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), 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 co-founded Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall riots. He also patronises LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG.
Known For
Credits
- 2026 · Avengers: Doomsday as Magneto
- 2025 · Billy & Dom Eat the World as Himself
- 2024 · The Critic as Jimmy Erskine
- 2024 · Hamlet as Hamlet
- 2024 · ted as Narrator (voice)
- 2021 · Great British Theatre as
- 2021 · Infinitum: Subject Unknown as Dr. Charles Marland-White
- 2020 · Reunited Apart as Self
- 2019 · Cats as Gus, the Theatre Cat
- 2019 · The Good Liar as Roy Courtnay
- 2018 · All Is True as Earl of Southampton
- 2017 · Animal Crackers as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
- 2017 · Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth
- 2015 · The Dresser as Norman
- 2015 · Mr. Holmes as Sherlock Holmes
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as Gandalf the Grey
- 2014 · Trailblazer Honors as Self - Speaker
- 2014 · X-Men: Days of Future Past as Magneto
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2013 · The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as Gandalf the Grey
- 2013 · The Wolverine as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
- 2013 · Vicious as Freddie Thornhill
- 2012 · Doctor Who: The Snowmen as The Great Intelligence (voice)
- 2012 · The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Gandalf the Grey
- 2011 · Perspectives as
- 2010 · Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy as Self (archive footage)
- 2009 · The Prisoner as 2 / Curtis
- 2009 · Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- 2007 · The Golden Compass as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
- 2007 · Stardust as Narrator (voice)
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self - Guest
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · Flushed Away as The Toad (voice)
- 2006 · The One Show as Self - Guest
- 2006 · The Da Vinci Code as Sir Leigh Teabing
- 2006 · Doogal as Zebedee (voice)
- 2005 · Asylum as Dr. Peter Cleave
- 2005 · Neverwas as Gabriel Finch
- 2005 · Extras as Ian McKellen
- 2005 · Doctor Who as Voice of the Snowman
- 2004 · A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' as Self
- 2004 · The Magic Roundabout as Zebedee (voice)
- 2004 · Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
- 2004 · The Paul O'Grady Show as
- 2004 · The Making of the Return of the King as Self
- 2003 · The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as Gandalf
- 2003 · The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men - Making X2 as
- 2003 · Churchill as Himself - Narrator (voice)
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as
- 2002 · The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as Gandalf
- 2002 · Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway as Self
- 2001 · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as Gandalf
- 2000 · X-Men: The Mutant Watch as Self - 'Magneto'
- 1999 · David Copperfield as Creakle
- 1999 · Family Guy as Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
- 1998 · Apt Pupil as Kurt Dussander
- 1998 · Gods and Monsters as James Whale
- 1998 · Swept from the Sea as Dr. James Kennedy
- 1998 · Parkinson as Self
- 1997 · Bent as Uncle Freddie
- 1997 · The View as Self - Guest
- 1996 · Rasputin as Tsar Nicholas II
- 1995 · Restoration as Will Gates
- 1995 · Richard III as Richard III
- 1995 · Jack & Sarah as William
- 1995 · Cold Comfort Farm as Amos Starkadder
- 1994 · Inside the Actors Studio as Self
- 1994 · The Shadow as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
- 1994 · I'll Do Anything as John Earl McAlpine
- 1993 · Six Degrees of Separation as Geoffrey
- 1993 · Tales of the City as Archibald Anson Gidde
- 1993 · And the Band Played On as Bill Kraus
- 1993 · Last Action Hero as Death
- 1990 · Have I Got News for You as Self
- 1990 · Othello as Iago
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Ian McKellen (voice)
- 1989 · Scandal as John Profumo
- 1988 · Windmills of the Gods as Chairman
- 1985 · Plenty as Sir Andrew Charleson
- 1984 · Playing Shakespeare as
- 1983 · The Keep as Dr. Theodore Cuza
- 1982 · The Scarlet Pimpernel as Chauvelin
- 1981 · Pillar of Fire as Narrator
- 1978 · Armchair Thriller as Anthony Skipling
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Self
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1974 · Playhouse as
- 1972 · Country Matters as David Masterman
- 1969 · Sesame Street as Himself
- 1967 · Omnibus as Self - Reading Poetry
- 1966 · David Copperfield as David Copperfield
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Captain Plume
- 1960 · Coronation Street as Mel Hutchwright
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Winner
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- Future · Amol Rajan Interviews as Self - Interviewed Guest
- 2025 · Dragged Through Time as
- 2024 · Dragfox as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking)
- 2024 · The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved as
- 2024 · The Life and Death of Lily Savage as Self
- 2022 · Quintessentially British as Self
- 2021 · Hating Peter Tatchell as Self
- 2019 · On Broadway as Self
- 2018 · National Theatre Live: King Lear as King Lear
- 2017 · The Paul O'Grady Story as Self
- 2017 · The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin as Self
- 2016 · Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage as Self
- 2016 · Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
- 2014 · Nelson Mandela Redrawn as Self
- 2013 · The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin as Self
- 2013 · The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot as Self
- 2013 · Muse of Fire as Self
- 2010 · A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation as Narrator (voice)
- 2008 · King Lear as King Lear
- 2007 · The Art of Breaking Character as Self
- 2006 · X-Men: The Last Stand as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
- 2005 · Ringers: Lord of the Fans as Self
- 2005 · Eighteen as Jason Anders (voice)
- 2004 · Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!! as Self
- 2003 · The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision as Self
- 2003 · Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King as Self
- 2003 · X2 as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
- 2003 · The Making of The Two Towers as
- 2003 · X-Men: Premieres Around the World as Self
- 2003 · Evolution X - The Making of X-Men as
- 2003 · Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories as Self
- 2003 · Émile as Emile
- 2002 · Lord of the Piercing as Gandalf the Grey (archive footage)
- 2001 · Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring as Self
- 2001 · A Passage to Middle-Earth: Making of 'Lord of the Rings' as Self
- 2001 · Quest for the Ring as Self
- 2001 · Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Narrator (voice)
- 2000 · X-Men as Magneto
- 2000 · Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man as Narrator (voice)
- 1997 · Surviving Friendly Fire as
- 1996 · An Evening with Lily Savage as Self
- 1994 · David Macaulay: Roman City as Augustus Caesar (voice)
- 1993 · The Ballad of Little Jo as Percy Corcoran
- 1989 · Countdown to War as Adolf Hitler
- 1982 · Walter as Walter
- 1981 · Priest of Love as D.H. Lawrence
- 1979 · Macbeth as Macbeth
- 1969 · Alfred the Great as Roger
- 1965 · The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne as Wolf
- Future · The Christophers as
- Future · Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary as Self
- 2025 · Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness as
- 2023 · The One Note Man as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Freedom: 50 Years of Pride as Self
- 2020 · Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU as
- 2020 · Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet as
- 2018 · McKellen: Playing the Part as Himself
- 2017 · How a Kite Flies as Mr. Kite (voice)
- 2017 · Edmund the Magnificent as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen as
- 2016 · Shakespeare on Film as
- 2016 · Play the Devil: Making Richard III as
- 2016 · All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
- 2016 · The Roof as And Even Yet Another Fan
- 2014 · Miss in Her Teens as The Prologue
- 2013 · The Egg Trick as Magician
- 1982 · Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare as
- Future · Schadenfreude as Continuity Announcer
- 2022 · Hamlet Within as
- 2016 · National Theatre Live: No Man's Land as Spooner
- 2015 · Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
- 2012 · London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony as Self
- 2011 · Looking for Lowry as Himself
- 2011 · The Betty Driver Story as Self
- 2010 · Lady Grey London as
- 2010 · Small-Time Revolutionary as Hamish Miller (voice)
- 2009 · Theatreland as Himself
- 2007 · For the Love of God as The Jackdaw
- 2006 · Saint of 9/11 as Narrator
- 2005 · The Hobart Shakespeareans as Himself
- 2004 · Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? as
- 2000 · Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed! as Self
- 1999 · The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale as Self
- 1997 · A Bit Of Scarlet as Narrator
- 1994 · To Die For as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
- 1994 · Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest as
- 1993 · Camp Christmas as
- 1993 · Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up as Narration (voice)
- 1992 · Gladio as Aldo Moro (voice)
- 1988 · Scarfe's Follies as
- 1987 · Süleyman the Magnificent as Narrator
- 1985 · Zina as Kronfeld
- 1983 · Walter and June as Walter
- 1979 · Every Good Boy Deserves Favour as Alexander Ivanov
- 1972 · Hedda Gabler as George Tesman
- 1970 · Hamlet as Hamlet
- 1970 · Edward II as King Edward
- 1970 · The Tragedy of King Richard II as King Richard II
- 1969 · The Promise as
- 1969 · A Touch of Love as George
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Future · Richard II as Richard II