Ian McKellen
Actor

Ian McKellen

21 Movies
21 Credits
Personal Info
Known For Acting
Known Credits 21
Birthday May 25, 1939 (87 years old)
Place of Birth Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Also Known As Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Ian Murray McKellen, Ian McKellern
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Biography

Sir Ian Murray McKellenΒ (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on theΒ screen and stageΒ in genres ranging fromΒ ShakespeareanΒ dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as aΒ British cultural iconΒ and wasΒ knightedΒ by QueenΒ Elizabeth IIΒ in 1991. He has receivedΒ numerous accolades, including aΒ Tony Award, sixΒ Olivier Awards, and aΒ Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for twoΒ Academy Awards, fiveΒ BAFTA AwardsΒ and fiveΒ Emmy Awards.

McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at theΒ Belgrade TheatreΒ as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 made his firstΒ West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join theΒ Prospect Theatre CompanyΒ to play the lead parts in Shakespeare'sΒ Richard IIΒ andΒ Marlowe'sΒ Edward II. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of theΒ Royal Shakespeare CompanyΒ and theΒ National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned fiveΒ Olivier AwardsΒ for his roles inΒ Pillars of the CommunityΒ (1977),Β The AlchemistΒ (1978),Β BentΒ (1979),Β Wild HoneyΒ (1984), andΒ Richard III (1995). McKellen made hisΒ BroadwayΒ debut inΒ The PromiseΒ (1965). He received theΒ Tony Award for Best Actor in a PlayΒ for his role asΒ Antonio SalieriΒ inΒ AmadeusΒ (1980). He was further nominated forΒ Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1984). He returned to Broadway inΒ Wild Honey(1986),Β Dance of DeathΒ (1990),Β No Man's Land (2013), andΒ Waiting for GodotΒ (2013), the latter two being a joint production withΒ Patrick Stewart.

McKellen achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including theΒ titular KingΒ inΒ Richard III (1995),Β James WhaleΒ inΒ Gods and MonstersΒ (1998),Β MagnetoΒ in theΒ X-MenΒ films,Β CogsworthΒ inΒ Beauty and the BeastΒ (2017) andΒ GandalfΒ inΒ The Lord of the RingsΒ (2001–2003) andΒ The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies. Other notable film roles includeΒ A Touch of LoveΒ (1969),Β PlentyΒ (1985),Β Six Degrees of SeparationΒ (1993),Β RestorationΒ (1995),Β Flushed AwayΒ (2006),Β Mr. Holmes (2015), andΒ The Good LiarΒ (2019).

McKellenΒ came outΒ as gay in 1988, and has since championedΒ LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded theΒ Freedom of the City of LondonΒ in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder ofΒ Stonewall, an LGBT rightsΒ lobbyΒ group in the United Kingdom, named after theΒ Stonewall riots.Β He is also patron ofΒ LGBT History Month,Β Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos,Β LGBT FoundationΒ andΒ FFLAG.

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Filmography (220)

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum 2027
The Christophers 2026
Avengers: Doomsday 2026
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol 2026
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes 2026
Schadenfreude 2025
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness 2025
Dragged Through Time 2025
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' 2025
Billy & Dom Eat the World 2025
The Critic 2024
Hamlet 2024
The Life and Death of Lily Savage 2024
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved 2024
Dragfox 2024
ted 2024
The One Note Man 2023
Hamlet Within 2022
Quintessentially British 2022
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride 2022
Hating Peter Tatchell 2021
Infinitum: Subject Unknown 2021
Great British Theatre 2021
Amol Rajan Interviews 2021
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU 2020
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet 2020
Reunited Apart 2020
The Good Liar 2019
Cats 2019
On Broadway 2019
Animal Crackers 2018
McKellen: Playing the Part 2018
National Theatre Live: King Lear 2018
All Is True 2018
Beauty and the Beast 2017
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin 2017
The Paul O'Grady Story 2017
Edmund the Magnificent 2017
How a Kite Flies 2017
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film 2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC 2016
The Roof 2016
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage 2016
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land 2016
Play the Devil: Making Richard III 2016
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen 2016
Shakespeare on Film 2016
Mr. Holmes 2015
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC 2015
The Dresser 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past 2014
Miss in Her Teens 2014
Nelson Mandela Redrawn 2014
Trailblazer Honors 2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers 2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors 2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 2013
Muse of Fire 2013
The Wolverine 2013
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot 2013
The Egg Trick 2013
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin 2013
Vicious 2013
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony 2012
Doctor Who: The Snowmen 2012
Looking for Lowry 2011
The Betty Driver Story 2011
Perspectives 2011
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation 2010
Small-Time Revolutionary 2010
Theatreland 2009
The Prisoner 2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen 2009
King Lear 2008
The Golden Compass 2007 Stardust 2007
For the Love of God 2007
The Art of Breaking Character 2007
Guerrilla Distribution 2007
The Graham Norton Show 2007
The Da Vinci Code 2006 Flushed Away 2006
Doogal 2006
X-Men: The Last Stand 2006
Saint of 9/11 2006
The One Show 2006
Neverwas 2005
Asylum 2005
The Magic Roundabout 2005
The Hobart Shakespeareans 2005
Eighteen 2005
Ringers: Lord of the Fans 2005
Extras 2005
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? 2004
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' 2004
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!! 2004
The Making of 'The Return of the King' 2004
My First Time 2004
The Paul O'Grady Show 2004
Who Do You Think You Are? 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003
Emile 2003
X2 2003
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King 2003
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men 2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 2003
X-Men: Premieres Around the World 2003
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision 2003
The Making of 'The Two Towers' 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live! 2003
Churchill 2003
Real Time with Bill Maher 2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On.. 2002
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love 2001
Quest for the Ring 2001
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' 2001
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
X-Men 2000
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 2000
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed! 2000
X-Men: The Mutant Watch 2000
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale 1999
After Stonewall 1999
David Copperfield 1999
Family Guy 1999
Gods and Monsters 1998
Swept from the Sea 1998
Apt Pupil 1998
Parkinson 1998
Bent 1997
Surviving Friendly Fire 1997
A Bit Of Scarlet 1997
The View 1997
HARDtalk 1997
An Evening with Lily Savage 1996
Rasputin 1996
Jack & Sarah 1995 Richard III 1995 Cold Comfort Farm 1995 Restoration 1995 The Shadow 1994
To Die For 1994
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest 1994
I'll Do Anything 1994
David Macaulay: Roman City 1994
Age of Dissent 1994
Inside the Actors Studio 1994
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 1994
And the Band Played On 1993
Six Degrees of Separation 1993
Last Action Hero 1993
The Ballad of Little Jo 1993
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up 1993
Camp Christmas 1993
A Simple Matter of Justice 1993
Tales of the City 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1993
Late Show with David Letterman 1993
Gladio 1992
Othello 1990
Have I Got News for You 1990
Scandal 1989
Countdown to War 1989
The Simpsons 1989
Scarfe's Follies 1988
Windmills of the Gods 1988
SΓΌleyman the Magnificent 1987
Plenty 1985
Zina 1985
Playing Shakespeare 1984
The Keep 1983
Walter and June 1983
The Scarlet Pimpernel 1982
Walter 1982
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare 1982
Priest of Love 1981
Pillar of Fire 1981
Dying Day 1980
Macbeth 1979
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour 1979
An Audience with... 1978
Saturday Night Live 1975
Graceless Go I 1974
Playhouse 1974
Hedda Gabler 1972
Craven Arms 1972
Country Matters 1972
Film '72 1971
Edward II 1970
The Tragedy of King Richard II 1970
Solo 1970
Alfred the Great 1969
A Touch of Love 1969
The Promise 1969
Sesame Street 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre 1969
Omnibus 1967
ITV Playhouse 1967
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne 1965
BBC Play of the Month 1965
The Wednesday Play 1964
Coronation Street 1960
Tony Awards 1956
The Oscars 1953
Golden Globe Awards 1944
Richard II
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
No Man's Land
Frank and Percy