Ian McKellen
Photoplayd Industry Rating
Not enough rated films yet to compute a weighted score.
Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
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
Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
as Magneto
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
as Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
as Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
as Gandalf
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
as Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
as Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
as Gandalf the Grey
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
as Magneto
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
as Cogsworth
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
as Sir Leigh Teabing
Flushed Away (2006)
as The Toad (voice)
The Golden Compass (2007)
as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Stardust (2007)
as Narrator (voice)
The Christophers (2025)
as Julian Sklar
Last Action Hero (1993)
as Death
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin (2013)
as Self
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (2027)
as Gandalf
Cats (2019)
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
The Shadow (1994)
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
X-Men: The Mutant Watch (2000)
as Self - 'Magneto'
Mr. Holmes (2015)
as Sherlock Holmes
The Good Liar (2019)
as Roy Courtnay
The Betty Driver Story (2011)
as Self
The Wolverine (2013)
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
Apt Pupil (1998)
as Kurt Dussander
The Magic Roundabout (2005)
as Zebedee (voice)
King Lear (2008)
as King Lear
The Critic (2024)
as Jimmy Erskine
Dragfox (2024)
as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
as Geoffrey
And the Band Played On (1993)
as Bill Kraus
Asylum (2005)
as Dr. Peter Cleave
Restoration (1995)
as Will Gates
Animal Crackers (2018)
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
Gods and Monsters (1998)
as James Whale
Richard III (1995)
as Richard III
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
as Chauvelin
Bent (1997)
as Uncle Freddie
The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)
as Percy Corcoran
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol (2026)
as Jacob Marley
The Promise (1969)
Actor
The Keep (1983)
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
Doogal (2006)
as Zebedee (voice)
Doctor Who: The Snowmen (2012)
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
Swept from the Sea (1998)
as Dr. James Kennedy
Scandal (1989)
as John Profumo
Plenty (1985)
as Sir Andrew Charleson
A Touch of Love (1969)
as George
Jack & Sarah (1995)
as William
All Is True (2018)
as Earl of Southampton
Infinitum: Subject Unknown (2021)
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet (2020)
Actor
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' (2001)
as Self
Priest of Love (1981)
as D.H. Lawrence
Frank and Percy (—)
as Percy
Neverwas (2005)
as Gabriel Finch
Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
as Amos Starkadder
Muse of Fire (2013)
as Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn (2014)
as Self
I'll Do Anything (1994)
as John Earl McAlpine
Shakespeare on Film (2016)
Actor
Rasputin (1996)
as Tsar Nicholas II
Alfred the Great (1969)
as Roger
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (2013)
as Self
The Dresser (2015)
as Norman
Zina (1985)
as Kronfeld
McKellen: Playing the Part (2018)
as Self
Gladio (1992)
as Aldo Moro (voice)
The Roof (2016)
as And Even Yet Another Fan
The Making of 'The Two Towers' (2003)
Actor
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On.. (2002)
as Self
Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)
as Self
The Egg Trick (2013)
as Magician
Countdown to War (1989)
as Adolf Hitler
Hedda Gabler (1972)
as George Tesman
X-Men: Premieres Around the World (2003)
as Self
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (2017)
as Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script (2002)
as Self
Theatreland (2009)
as Self
Quest for the Ring (2001)
as Self
Hating Peter Tatchell (2021)
as Self
An Evening with Lily Savage (1996)
as Self
Scarfe's Follies (1988)
Actor
Graceless Go I (1974)
as Tony
The Making of 'The Return of the King' (2004)
as Self
On Broadway (2019)
as Self
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto (2014)
as Self
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!! (2004)
as Self
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony (2012)
as Self
Schadenfreude (2025)
as Continuity Announcer
Hamlet Within (2022)
Actor
Dragged Through Time (2025)
Actor
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design (2002)
as Self
Miss in Her Teens (2014)
as The Prologue
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
as Self
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' (2004)
as Self
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King (2003)
as Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale (2002)
as Self
Walter (1982)
as Walter
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth (2002)
as Self
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision (2003)
as Self
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land (2016)
as Spooner
For the Love of God (2007)
as The Jackdaw
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men (2003)
Actor
Surviving Friendly Fire (1997)
Actor
X-Men (2000)
as Magneto
National Theatre Live: King Lear (2018)
as King Lear
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
Emile (2003)
as Emile
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 (2003)
as Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast (2002)
as Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride (2022)
as Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage (2016)
as Self
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love (2001)
as Narrator (voice)
Saint of 9/11 (2006)
as Narrator
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC (2016)
as Self - Performer
Camp Christmas (1993)
Actor
Play the Devil: Making Richard III (2016)
Actor
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes (2026)
as L S Lowry
The Art of Breaking Character (2007)
as Self
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1982)
Actor
Walter and June (1983)
as Walter
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
The Paul O'Grady Story (2017)
as Self
After Stonewall (1999)
as Self
Guerrilla Distribution (2007)
as Self
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
Craven Arms (1972)
as David Masterman
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest (1994)
as Self
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man (2000)
as Narrator (voice)
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979)
as Alexander Ivanov
Edward II (1970)
as King Edward
Macbeth (1979)
as Macbeth
Hamlet (2024)
as Hamlet
The Hobart Shakespeareans (2005)
as Self
No Man's Land (—)
as Spooner
Looking for Lowry (2011)
as Self
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale (1999)
as Self
Süleyman the Magnificent (1987)
as Narrator
David Macaulay: Roman City (1994)
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen (2016)
Actor
Edmund the Magnificent (2017)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
X2 (2003)
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
The Tragedy of King Richard II (1970)
as King Richard II
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary (—)
as Self
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU (2020)
Actor
To Die For (1994)
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
Dying Day (1980)
as Antony Skipling
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed! (2000)
as Self
Quintessentially British (2022)
as Self
Othello (1990)
as Iago
Eighteen (2005)
as Jason Anders (voice)
Age of Dissent (1994)
as Self
The Life and Death of Lily Savage (2024)
as Self
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved (2024)
Actor
My First Time (2004)
as Narrator
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film (2016)
as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
A Simple Matter of Justice (1993)
as Self
Richard II (—)
as Richard II
A Bit Of Scarlet (1997)
as Narrator
Hamlet (1970)
as Hamlet
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness (2025)
Actor
How a Kite Flies (2017)
as Mr. Kite (voice)
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation (2010)
as Narrator (voice)
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? (2004)
Actor
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne (1965)
as Wolf
Small-Time Revolutionary (2010)
as Hamish Miller (voice)
The One Note Man (2023)
as Narrator (voice)
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up (1993)
as Narration (voice)