Ian McKellen
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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)
Ebenezer (2026)
as Jacob Marley
Last Action Hero (1993)
as Death
Mr. Holmes (2015)
as Sherlock Holmes
Stardust (2007)
as Narrator (voice)
The Good Liar (2019)
as Roy Courtnay
Animal Crackers (2018)
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Shadow (1994)
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
Cats (2019)
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
The Christophers (2026)
as Julian Sklar
The Dresser (2015)
as Norman
Richard III (1995)
as Richard III
I'll Do Anything (1994)
as John Earl McAlpine
Gods and Monsters (1998)
as James Whale
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
as Geoffrey
Apt Pupil (1998)
as Kurt Dussander
The Wolverine (2013)
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
The Critic (2024)
as Jimmy Erskine
And the Band Played On (1993)
as Bill Kraus
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (2027)
as Gandalf
The Keep (1983)
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
Asylum (2005)
as Dr. Peter Cleave
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (2013)
as Self
The Magic Roundabout (2005)
as Zebedee (voice)
Thin Ice (1995)
as Ian McKellen
Swept from the Sea (1998)
as Dr. James Kennedy
Restoration (1995)
as Will Gates
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (2017)
as Self
A Touch of Love (1969)
as George
Doctor Who: The Snowmen (2012)
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
Muse of Fire (2013)
as Self
Scandal (1989)
as John Profumo
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' (2001)
as Self
X-Men: The Mutant Watch (2000)
as Self - 'Magneto'
Doogal (2006)
as Zebedee (voice)
All Is True (2018)
as Earl of Southampton
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
as Chauvelin
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979)
as Alexander Ivanov
Nelson Mandela Redrawn (2014)
as Self
Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)
as Self
Saint of 9/11 (2006)
as Narrator
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men (2003)
Actor
King Lear (2008)
as King Lear
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' (2004)
as Self
Infinitum: Subject Unknown (2021)
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin (2013)
as Self
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King (2003)
as Self
The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)
as Percy Corcoran
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!! (2004)
as Self
The Making of 'The Two Towers' (2006)
as Self
Gladio (1992)
as Aldo Moro (voice)
Bent (1997)
as Uncle Freddie
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC (2016)
as Self - Performer
X3: The Excitement Continues (2006)
as Self
Neverwas (2005)
as Gabriel Finch
Alfred the Great (1969)
as Roger
Zina (1985)
as Kronfeld
Quest for the Ring (2001)
as Self
The Making of 'The Return of the King' (2006)
as Self
McKellen: Playing the Part (2018)
as Self
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 (2003)
as Self
National Theatre Live: King Lear (2018)
as King Lear
Dragfox (2024)
as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
Jack & Sarah (1995)
as William
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
as Self
The Betty Driver Story (2011)
as Self
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
as Amos Starkadder
X-Men: Premieres Around the World (2003)
as Self
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved (2024)
Actor
Rasputin (1996)
as Tsar Nicholas II
The Roof (2016)
as And Even Yet Another Fan
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script (2002)
as Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage (2016)
as Self
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale (2002)
as Self
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale (1999)
as Self
The Life and Death of Lily Savage (2024)
as Self
Hating Peter Tatchell (2021)
as Self
Brett Ratner's X-Diaries (2006)
as Self
Emile (2003)
as Emile
David Macaulay: Roman City (1994)
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
Macbeth (1979)
as Macbeth
The Paul O'Grady Story (2017)
as Self
The Art of Breaking Character (2007)
as Self
The Tragedy of King Richard II (1970)
as King Richard II
Priest of Love (1981)
as D.H. Lawrence
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision (2003)
as Self
Frank and Percy (2026)
as Percy
Plenty (1985)
as Sir Andrew Charleson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth (2002)
as Self
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land (2016)
as Spooner
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On.. (2002)
as Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast (2002)
as Self
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man (2000)
as Narrator (voice)
An Evening with Lily Savage (1996)
as Self
Theatreland (2009)
as Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride (2022)
as Self
Miss in Her Teens (2014)
as The Prologue
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes (2026)
as L S Lowry
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary (—)
as Self
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto (2014)
as Self
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne (1965)
as Wolf
After Stonewall (1999)
as Self
On Broadway (2019)
as Self
A Simple Matter of Justice (1993)
as Self
The One Note Man (2023)
as Narrator (voice)
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness (2025)
Actor
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love (2001)
as Narrator (voice)
For the Love of God (2007)
as The Jackdaw
Hedda Gabler (1972)
as George Tesman
Scarfe's Follies (1988)
Actor
Schadenfreude (2025)
as Continuity Announcer
Eighteen (2005)
as Jason Anders (voice)
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed! (2000)
as Self
Othello (1990)
as Iago
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet (2020)
Actor
Hamlet (2024)
as Hamlet
The Promise (1969)
Actor
Walter and June (1983)
as Walter
Edward II (1970)
as King Edward
Play the Devil: Making Richard III (2016)
Actor
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony (2012)
as Self
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1982)
Actor
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest (1994)
as Self
Dying Day (1980)
as Antony Skipling
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU (2020)
Actor
How a Kite Flies (2017)
as Mr. Kite (voice)
A Bit Of Scarlet (1997)
as Narrator
Craven Arms (1972)
as David Masterman
Walter (1982)
as Walter
Countdown to War (1989)
as Adolf Hitler
No Man's Land (—)
as Spooner
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up (1993)
as Narration (voice)
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film (2016)
as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
To Die For (1994)
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
Camp Christmas (1993)
Actor
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation (2010)
as Narrator (voice)
Hamlet Within (2022)
Actor
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen (2026)
as Self
Edmund the Magnificent (2017)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Graceless Go I (1974)
as Tony
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design (2002)
as Self
The Egg Trick (2013)
as Magician
Looking for Lowry (2011)
as Self
X-Men (2000)
as Magneto
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? (2004)
Actor
Quintessentially British (2022)
as Self
Age of Dissent (1994)
as Self
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
Süleyman the Magnificent (1987)
as Narrator
Small-Time Revolutionary (2010)
as Hamish Miller (voice)
Surviving Friendly Fire (1997)
Actor
The Hobart Shakespeareans (2005)
as Self
X2 (2003)
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Hamlet (1970)
as Hamlet
Shakespeare on Film (2016)
Actor
Guerrilla Distribution (2007)
as Self
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen (2016)
Actor
My First Time (2004)
as Narrator