Ian McKellen
Acting
Born: May 25, 1939 (age 87) · Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Highest Rated
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
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014
Beauty and the Beast
2017
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
X-Men
2000
X2
2003
The Simpsons
1989
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
Photos (11)
Movies (102)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Gandalf
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Magneto
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Gandalf
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Gandalf the Grey
Beauty and the Beast
Cogsworth
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Gandalf the Grey
The Da Vinci Code
Sir Leigh Teabing
Flushed Away
The Toad (voice)
Stardust
Narrator (voice)
Last Action Hero
Death
The Golden Compass
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
The Shadow
Dr. Reinhardt Lane
Mr. Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
The Christophers
Julian Sklar
Cats
Gus, the Theatre Cat
The Good Liar
Roy Courtnay
Apt Pupil
Kurt Dussander
Six Degrees of Separation
Geoffrey
Asylum
Dr. Peter Cleave
Animal Crackers
Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Keep
Dr. Theodore Cuza
The Magic Roundabout
Zebedee (voice)
Gladio
Aldo Moro (voice)
The Wolverine
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
Restoration
Will Gates
The Dresser
Norman
All Is True
Earl of Southampton
And the Band Played On
Bill Kraus
Gods and Monsters
James Whale
Richard III
Richard III
The Critic
Jimmy Erskine
Jack & Sarah
William
King Lear
King Lear
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Chauvelin
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Dr. Charles Marland-White
Rasputin
Tsar Nicholas II
Dragfox
Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
Scandal
John Profumo
Neverwas
Gabriel Finch
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
The Great Intelligence (voice)
Bent
Uncle Freddie
Priest of Love
D.H. Lawrence
Cold Comfort Farm
Amos Starkadder
Doogal
Zebedee (voice)
Plenty
Sir Andrew Charleson
Zina
Kronfeld
The Ballad of Little Jo
Percy Corcoran
Swept from the Sea
Dr. James Kennedy
The Roof
And Even Yet Another Fan
Thin Ice
Ian McKellen
Alfred the Great
Roger
I'll Do Anything
John Earl McAlpine
A Touch of Love
George
X-Men
Magneto
Emile
Emile
Schadenfreude
Continuity Announcer
Camp Christmas
1993
Macbeth
Macbeth
Hamlet
Hamlet
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020
National Theatre Live: King Lear
King Lear
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Alexander Ivanov
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Narrator (voice)
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003
The One Note Man
Narrator (voice)
Eighteen
Jason Anders (voice)
Walter
Walter
Miss in Her Teens
The Prologue
David Macaulay: Roman City
Augustus Caesar (voice)
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
L S Lowry
To Die For
Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024
The Egg Trick
Magician
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
Spooner
X2
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Othello
Iago
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
Wolf
Scarfe's Follies
1988
Walter and June
Walter
Countdown to War
Adolf Hitler
Hamlet Within
2022
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Narrator (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
How a Kite Flies
Mr. Kite (voice)
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
My First Time
Narrator
Süleyman the Magnificent
Narrator
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004
Edward II
King Edward
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020
Saint of 9/11
Narrator
The Tragedy of King Richard II
King Richard II
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
Narrator (voice)
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
Small-Time Revolutionary
Hamish Miller (voice)
Hamlet
Hamlet
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
Narration (voice)
A Bit Of Scarlet
Narrator
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982
TV Shows (27)
The Simpsons
Ian McKellen (voice) · 1 eps
Family Guy
Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice) · 1 eps
Coronation Street
Mel Hutchwright · 14 eps
American Playhouse
Archibald Anson Gidde · 1 eps
ted
Narrator (voice) · 3 eps
The Wednesday Play
Wolf · 1 eps
BBC Play of the Month
Captain Plume · 1 eps
BBC Play of the Month
Simon Bliss · 1 eps
BBC Play of the Month
Ross / T.E. Lawrence · 1 eps
BBC Play of the Month
George Tesman · 1 eps
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Lyov · 1 eps
ITV Playhouse
Tony · 1 eps
The Paul O'Grady Show
1 eps
Playhouse
Alexander · 1 eps
TFI Friday
1 eps
Extras
Ian McKellen · 1 eps
HARDtalk
1 eps
Vicious
Freddie Thornhill · 12 eps
The Prisoner
2 / Curtis · 6 eps
David Copperfield
Creakle · 2 eps
Perspectives
1 eps
Tales of the City
Archibald Anson Gidde · 2 eps
Country Matters
David Masterman · 1 eps
Playing Shakespeare
9 eps
Windmills of the Gods
Chairman · 2 eps
Pillar of Fire
Narrator · 20 eps
Great British Theatre
5 eps
Self / Appearances (86)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · 1 eps
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Sesame Street
Self · 1 eps
Real Time with Bill Maher
Self · 2 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self · 9 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · 1 eps
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner · 1 eps
The View
Self - Guest · 2 eps
The Talk
Self · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Winner · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Have I Got News for You
Self · 1 eps
The One Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · 1 eps
Omnibus
Self - Reading Poetry · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 3 eps
Parkinson
Self · 3 eps
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Self · 1 eps
Who Do You Think You Are?
Self · 1 eps
An Audience with...
Self · 1 eps
Trailblazer Honors
Self - Speaker · 1 eps
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Self · 1 eps
Reunited Apart
Self · 1 eps
The Betty Driver Story
Self
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Self - 'Magneto'
Muse of Fire
Self
Amol Rajan Interviews
Self - Interviewed Guest · 1 eps
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth
Self
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
Self
Billy & Dom Eat the World
Self · 1 eps
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script
Self
Hating Peter Tatchell
Self
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Self
Churchill
Self - Narrator (voice) · 3 eps
On Broadway
Self
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
Self
Quest for the Ring
Self
Inside the Actors Studio
Self · 1 eps
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast
Self
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
Self
McKellen: Playing the Part
Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Self
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto
Self
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Self
Theatreland
Self
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
Self
X-Men: Evolution of a Trilogy
Self
Brett Ratner's X-Diaries
Self
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Self
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Self - Performer
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design
Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale
Self
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
Self
A Simple Matter of Justice
Self
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
Self
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
Self
An Evening with Lily Savage
Self
The Paul O'Grady Story
Self
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
Self
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
Self
After Stonewall
Self
Quintessentially British
Self
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..
Self
Edmund the Magnificent
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Self
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
Self (archive footage)
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
Self
Age of Dissent
Self
Looking for Lowry
Self
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
Self
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
Self
Guerrilla Distribution
Self
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen
Self
