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, 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
Credits
- 2027 · The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum as Gandalf
- 2026 · Avengers: Doomsday as Magneto
- 2025 · A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' as Himself (archive footage)
- 2024 · The Critic as Jimmy Erskine
- 2024 · Hamlet as Hamlet
- 2024 · ted as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Quintessentially British as Self
- 2022 · Freedom: 50 Years of Pride as Self
- 2022 · Hamlet Within as
- 2021 · Hating Peter Tatchell as Self
- 2020 · Reunited Apart as Self
- 2019 · Cats as Gus, the Theatre Cat
- 2019 · The Good Liar as Roy Courtnay
- 2018 · National Theatre Live: King Lear as King Lear
- 2018 · McKellen: Playing the Part as Himself
- 2017 · Animal Crackers as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
- 2017 · Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth
- 2017 · Edmund the Magnificent as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · National Theatre Live: No Man's Land as Spooner
- 2016 · Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
- 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 · Nelson Mandela Redrawn as Self
- 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: Path of a Ronin as Self
- 2013 · The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot as Self
- 2013 · Vicious as Freddie Thornhill
- 2012 · The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Gandalf the Grey
- 2011 · The Betty Driver Story as Self
- 2010 · Small-Time Revolutionary as Hamish Miller (voice)
- 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
- 2005 · Asylum as Dr. Peter Cleave
- 2005 · Neverwas as Gabriel Finch
- 2005 · Extras as Ian McKellen
- 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
- 2003 · The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as Gandalf
- 2003 · Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King as Self
- 2003 · The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making 'X2' as
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- 2002 · The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as Gandalf
- 2002 · Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway as Self
- 2001 · Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring as Self
- 2001 · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as Gandalf
- 2001 · Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' as Self
- 1999 · David Copperfield as Creakle
- 1999 · The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale as Self
- 1999 · Family Guy as Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
- 1998 · Apt Pupil as Kurt Dussander
- 1998 · Gods and Monsters as James Whale
- 1998 · Parkinson as Self
- 1997 · The View as Self - Guest
- 1997 · A Bit Of Scarlet as Narrator
- 1996 · Rasputin as Tsar Nicholas II
- 1995 · Richard III as Richard III
- 1995 · Restoration as Will Gates
- 1995 · Jack & Sarah as William
- 1995 · Cold Comfort Farm as Amos Starkadder
- 1994 · The Shadow as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
- 1993 · Tales of the City as Archibald Anson Gidde
- 1993 · And the Band Played On as Bill Kraus
- 1993 · The Ballad of Little Jo as Percy Corcoran
- 1993 · Last Action Hero as Death
- 1990 · Have I Got News for You as Self
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Ian McKellen (voice)
- 1989 · Countdown to War as Adolf Hitler
- 1989 · Scandal as John Profumo
- 1985 · Plenty as Sir Andrew Charleson
- 1983 · The Keep as Dr. Theodore Cuza
- 1982 · The Scarlet Pimpernel as Chauvelin
- 1982 · Walter as Walter
- 1980 · Dying Day as Antony Skipling
- 1979 · Macbeth as Macbeth
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Self
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1974 · Playhouse as Alexander
- 1969 · Sesame Street as Self
- 1967 · Omnibus as Self - Reading Poetry
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Captain Plume
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Simon Bliss
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Ross / T.E. Lawrence
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as George Tesman
- 1960 · Coronation Street as Mel Hutchwright
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Winner
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Future · Schadenfreude as Continuity Announcer
- 2025 · The Christophers as Julian Sklar
- 2025 · Dragged Through Time as
- 2025 · Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness as
- 2025 · Billy & Dom Eat the World as Himself
- 2024 · Dragfox as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
- 2024 · The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved as
- 2024 · The Life and Death of Lily Savage as Self
- 2023 · The One Note Man as Narrator (voice)
- 2021 · Great British Theatre as
- 2021 · Infinitum: Subject Unknown as Dr. Charles Marland-White
- 2020 · Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU as
- 2020 · Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet as
- 2019 · On Broadway as Self
- 2018 · All Is True as Earl of Southampton
- 2017 · The Paul O'Grady Story as Self
- 2017 · How a Kite Flies as Mr. Kite (voice)
- 2017 · The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin as Self
- 2016 · Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage as Self
- 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
- 2015 · Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
- 2014 · Miss in Her Teens as The Prologue
- 2013 · Muse of Fire as Self
- 2013 · The Wolverine as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
- 2013 · The Egg Trick as Magician
- 2012 · Doctor Who: The Snowmen as The Great Intelligence (voice)
- 2012 · London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony as Self
- 2011 · Perspectives as
- 2011 · Looking for Lowry as Himself
- 2010 · Lady Grey London as
- 2010 · A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation as Narrator (voice)
- 2009 · The Prisoner as 2 / Curtis
- 2009 · Theatreland as Himself
- 2008 · King Lear as King Lear
- 2007 · The Art of Breaking Character as Self
- 2007 · For the Love of God as The Jackdaw
- 2007 · Guerrilla Distribution as Himself
- 2006 · X-Men: The Last Stand as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
- 2006 · Saint of 9/11 as Narrator
- 2006 · Doogal as Zebedee (voice)
- 2005 · The Hobart Shakespeareans as Himself
- 2005 · Ringers: Lord of the Fans as Self
- 2005 · Eighteen as Jason Anders (voice)
- 2004 · My First Time as Narrator
- 2004 · Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!! as Self
- 2004 · The Making of the Return of the King as Self
- 2004 · Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? as
- 2003 · The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision as Self
- 2003 · Churchill as Himself - Narrator (voice)
- 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 · Émile as Emile
- 2003 · Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories as Self
- 2001 · Quest for the Ring as Self
- 2001 · Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Narrator (voice)
- 2000 · Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed! as Self
- 2000 · X-Men as Magneto
- 2000 · X-Men: The Mutant Watch as Self - 'Magneto'
- 2000 · Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man as Narrator (voice)
- 1999 · After Stonewall as Self
- 1998 · Swept from the Sea as Dr. James Kennedy
- 1997 · Bent as Uncle Freddie
- 1997 · Surviving Friendly Fire as
- 1996 · An Evening with Lily Savage as Self
- 1994 · To Die For as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
- 1994 · Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest as
- 1994 · Inside the Actors Studio as Self
- 1994 · David Macaulay: Roman City as Augustus Caesar (voice)
- 1994 · I'll Do Anything as John Earl McAlpine
- 1994 · Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as Self
- 1993 · Camp Christmas as
- 1993 · Six Degrees of Separation as Geoffrey
- 1993 · Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up as Narration (voice)
- 1992 · Gladio as Aldo Moro (voice)
- 1990 · Othello as Iago
- 1988 · Windmills of the Gods as Chairman
- 1988 · Scarfe's Follies as
- 1987 · Süleyman the Magnificent as Narrator
- 1985 · Zina as Kronfeld
- 1984 · Playing Shakespeare as
- 1983 · Walter and June as Walter
- 1981 · Pillar of Fire as Narrator
- 1981 · Priest of Love as D.H. Lawrence
- 1979 · Every Good Boy Deserves Favour as Alexander Ivanov
- 1978 · Armchair Thriller as Anthony Skipling
- 1974 · Graceless Go I as Tony
- 1972 · Hedda Gabler as George Tesman
- 1972 · Country Matters as David Masterman
- 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 · Alfred the Great as Roger
- 1969 · A Touch of Love as George
- 1966 · David Copperfield as David Copperfield
- Future · Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary as Self
- Future · Richard II as Richard II
- 1982 · Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare as
- 1965 · The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne as Wolf
- Future · No Man's Land as Spooner