Ian McKellen
- Acting
- May 25, 1939 · Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
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
Filmography
- The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum · Gandalf
- Avengers: Doomsday · Magneto
- Ebenezer · Jacob Marley
- Frank and Percy · Percy
- Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen · Self
- The Christophers · Julian Sklar
- LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes · L S Lowry
- Schadenfreude · Continuity Announcer
- A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' · Self
- Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
- Billy & Dom Eat the World · Self
- The Critic · Jimmy Erskine
- Dragfox · Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (Voice)
- The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
- The Life and Death of Lily Savage · Self
- Hamlet · Hamlet
- ted · Narrator (Voice)
- The One Note Man · Narrator (Voice)
- Quintessentially British · Self
- Freedom: 50 Years of Pride · Self
- Hamlet Within
- Hating Peter Tatchell · Self
- Amol Rajan Interviews · Self
- Great British Theatre
- Infinitum: Subject Unknown · Dr. Charles Marland-White
- Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
- Reunited Apart · Self
- Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
- Cats · Gus, the Theatre Cat
- The Good Liar · Roy Courtnay
- On Broadway · Self
- The Isle · Associate Producer
- All Is True · Earl of Southampton
- National Theatre Live: King Lear · King Lear
- Animal Crackers · Horatio P. Huntington (Voice)
- McKellen: Playing the Part · Self
- The Paul O'Grady Story · Self
- How a Kite Flies · Mr. Kite (Voice)
- Beauty and the Beast · Cogsworth
- The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin · Self
- Edmund the Magnificent · Self
- Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage · Self
- National Theatre Live: No Man's Land · Spooner
- Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
- Shakespeare on Film
- Play the Devil: Making Richard III
- All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film · Prospero's Speech Reader (Voice)
- Shakespeare Live! From the RSC · Self
- The Roof · And Even Yet Another Fan
- Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC · Self
- The Dresser · Norman
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert · Self
- Mr. Holmes · Sherlock Holmes
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors · Self
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies · Gandalf the Grey
- Double Take: Xavier & Magneto · Self
- Nelson Mandela Redrawn · Self
- Trailblazer Honors · Self
- X-Men: Days of Future Past · Magneto
- Miss in Her Teens · The Prologue
- Late Night with Seth Meyers · Self
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug · Gandalf the Grey
- The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin · Self
- The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot · Self
- Muse of Fire · Self
- The Wolverine · Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
- The Egg Trick · Magician
- Vicious · Freddie Thornhill
- Doctor Who: The Snowmen · The Great Intelligence (Voice)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey · Gandalf the Grey
- London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony · Self
- Looking for Lowry · Self
- Perspectives
- The Betty Driver Story · Self
- The Talk · Self
- Small-Time Revolutionary · Hamish Miller (Voice)
- A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation · Narrator (Voice)
- The Prisoner · 2 / Curtis
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen · Self
- Theatreland · Self