×
Loading in progress
  • BIRTH 25/05/1939
  • Country United Kingdom
  • SHOWS 22
  • MOVIES 65
  • SCRIPT 1
  • PRODUCTION 1

Ian McKellen

Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. With a career spanning more than sixty years, he is noted for his 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 went on to receive 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 is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also a 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.

Ian McKellen

Shows (22)

ted
ted
Narrator (voice)
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
Ian McKellen (voice)
Family Guy
Family Guy
Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
Extras
Extras
Ian McKellen
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
The Academy Awards
The Academy Awards
Self
The Prisoner (2009)
The Prisoner (2009)
2 / Curtis
The View
The View
Self - Guest
Who Do You Think You Are?
Who Do You Think You Are?
Self
The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show
Self / Self (archive footage) / Self - Guest
Vicious
Vicious
Freddie Thornhill
Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Himself
David Copperfield (1999)
David Copperfield (1999)
Creakle
Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio
Self
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Mel Hutchwright
Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher
Self
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
Churchill
Churchill
Himself - Narrator (voice)
Armchair Thriller
Armchair Thriller
Anthony Skipling
Variety: Actors on Actors
Variety: Actors on Actors
Self

Movies (65)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the…
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Gandalf
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gandalf the Grey
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Cogsworth
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
Sir Leigh Teabing
X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Magneto
X-Men
X-Men
Magneto
The Golden Compass
The Golden Compass
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
X2
X2
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Death
The Good Liar
The Good Liar
Roy Courtnay
Stardust
Stardust
Narrator (voice)
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
The Great Intelligence (voice)
Flushed Away
Flushed Away
The Toad (voice)
Cats
Cats
Gus, the Theatre Cat
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Self - 'Magneto'
Mr. Holmes
Mr. Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
The Critic
The Critic
Jimmy Erskine
Six Degrees of Separation
Six Degrees of Separation
Geoffrey
Apt Pupil
Apt Pupil
Kurt Dussander
The Keep
The Keep
Dr. Theodore Cuza
Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm
Amos Starkadder
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Dr. Charles Marland-White
The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout
Zebedee (voice)
Swept from the Sea
Swept from the Sea
Dr. James Kennedy
The One Note Man
The One Note Man
Narrator (voice)
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
Self
Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters
James Whale
Neverwas
Neverwas
Gabriel Finch
The Ballad of Little Jo
The Ballad of Little Jo
Percy Corcoran
Richard III
Richard III
Richard III
The Shadow
The Shadow
Dr. Reinhardt Lane
Priest of Love
Priest of Love
D.H. Lawrence
Bent
Bent
Uncle Freddie
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Narrator (voice)
Scandal
Scandal
John Profumo
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Self
I'll Do Anything
I'll Do Anything
John Earl McAlpine
King Lear
King Lear
King Lear
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Chauvelin
Doogal
Doogal
Zebedee (voice)
The Dresser
The Dresser
Norman
On Broadway
On Broadway
Self
Saint of 9/11
Saint of 9/11
Narrator
Restoration
Restoration
Will Gates
Marley
Marley
Scrooge (rumored)
All Is True
All Is True
Earl of Southampton
Muse of Fire
Muse of Fire
Self
Hating Peter Tatchell
Hating Peter Tatchell
Self
Émile
Émile
Emile
Plenty
Plenty
Sir Andrew Charleson
Asylum
Asylum
Dr. Peter Cleave
Rasputin
Rasputin
Tsar Nicholas II
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Self - Performer
Animal Crackers
Animal Crackers
Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Self
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
Narrator (voice)
A Performance of Macbeth
A Performance of Macbeth
Macbeth
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Self
Jack & Sarah
Jack & Sarah
William

Script

Richard III
Richard III

Production

Richard III
Richard III