Ian McKellen
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1939-05-25
Place of Birth
Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Ian McKellen
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.
Also Known For
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Dec 18, 2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Dec 18, 2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dec 17, 2003
The Da Vinci Code
May 17, 2006
Gods and Monsters
Sep 12, 1998
The Golden Compass
Dec 04, 2007
Stardust
Aug 10, 2007
Swept from the Sea
Jan 23, 1998
Jack & Sarah
Jun 02, 1995
And the Band Played On
Sep 11, 1993
Six Degrees of Separation
Dec 08, 1993
Neverwas
Sep 09, 2005
Richard III
Dec 29, 1995
Flushed Away
Oct 22, 2006
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
Jun 11, 2020
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Nov 09, 1982
Doogal
Feb 24, 2006
Asylum
Sep 09, 2005
The Shadow
Jul 01, 1994
Scandal
Mar 03, 1989
Apt Pupil
Oct 23, 1998
Cold Comfort Farm
Jan 01, 1995
Last Action Hero
Jun 18, 1993
The Keep
Dec 16, 1983
Macbeth
Feb 02, 1979
Plenty
Sep 20, 1985
Hamlet Within
May 21, 2022
Emile
Jan 01, 2003
X-Men
Jul 13, 2000
X2
Apr 27, 2003
X-Men: The Last Stand
May 24, 2006
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
Nov 10, 1965
An Evening with Lily Savage
Nov 11, 1996
King Lear
Aug 06, 2008
The Magic Roundabout
Oct 24, 2004
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
May 05, 2000
Rasputin
Mar 23, 1996
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Dec 12, 2012
Priest of Love
Oct 11, 1981
Gladio
Jul 10, 1992
Bent
Nov 26, 1997
The Ballad of Little Jo
Aug 20, 1993
Alfred the Great
Oct 08, 1969
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Dec 11, 2013
Walter
Nov 02, 1982
Richard II
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
Aug 29, 2000
Saint of 9/11
Apr 27, 2006
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Dec 10, 2014
Schadenfreude
Nov 17, 2025
X-Men: Days of Future Past
May 15, 2014
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
Aug 29, 2012
A Touch of Love
Sep 01, 1969
Theatreland
Jan 01, 2009
To Die For
Dec 02, 1994
Surviving Friendly Fire
Jun 21, 1997
Walter and June
Apr 30, 1983
Muse of Fire
Sep 26, 2013
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Nov 14, 1979
A Bit Of Scarlet
Jun 20, 1997
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
Apr 25, 1982
The Critic
Sep 13, 2024
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Sep 13, 2001
Miss in Her Teens
Apr 15, 2014
Zina
Nov 01, 1985
Othello
Jun 23, 1990
For the Love of God
Feb 28, 2007
The One Note Man
Aug 08, 2023
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Apr 24, 2016
Hamlet
Feb 27, 2024
Mr. Holmes
Jun 19, 2015
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
Mar 27, 2004
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
Jun 23, 1993
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
Sep 23, 1994
I'll Do Anything
Feb 04, 1994
The Wolverine
Jul 21, 2013
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Nov 23, 2013
Animal Crackers
Jun 23, 2017
Hamlet
Nov 07, 1970
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Sep 06, 2005
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
Quintessentially British
Oct 27, 2022
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Jul 18, 2014
Looking for Lowry
Apr 24, 2011
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Nov 01, 2015
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
Mar 29, 2024
The Dresser
Oct 31, 2015
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
Dec 25, 2012
Lady Grey London
Dec 08, 2010
Beauty and the Beast
Mar 16, 2017
Edward II
Aug 06, 1970
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
Jun 09, 2024
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Apr 23, 2016
The Promise
Dec 01, 1969
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
Dec 14, 2004
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Dec 12, 2003
Restoration
Dec 29, 1995
Hedda Gabler
Oct 20, 1972
Dragfox
Aug 31, 2024
The Roof
Mar 31, 2016
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
Feb 11, 2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
Nov 25, 2003
The Art of Breaking Character
Mar 26, 2007
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
Dec 30, 2016
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
Dec 15, 2016
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
Feb 11, 2003
Quest for the Ring
Nov 29, 2001
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
Dec 09, 2001
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
Jun 25, 2010
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Mar 11, 2017
The Good Liar
Nov 08, 2019
The Betty Driver Story
Feb 01, 2011
The Paul O'Grady Story
Jun 23, 2017
McKellen: Playing the Part
May 25, 2018
Cats
Dec 19, 2019
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Sep 27, 2018
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
Jul 23, 2004
All Is True
Dec 21, 2018
David Macaulay: Roman City
Feb 15, 1994
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
Dec 26, 2003
Edmund the Magnificent
Mar 01, 2017
How a Kite Flies
Apr 28, 2017
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Dec 23, 2001
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
Jun 08, 1999
The Egg Trick
Jun 21, 2013
Hating Peter Tatchell
Nov 01, 2021
Eighteen
Jan 01, 2005
Small-Time Revolutionary
Jul 22, 2010
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Jan 21, 2005
The Tragedy of King Richard II
Jul 30, 1970
Countdown to War
Apr 07, 1989
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
Dec 03, 2013
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
May 31, 2016
Shakespeare on Film
May 31, 2016
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
May 31, 2016
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Jul 02, 2000
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Mar 03, 2021
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
Apr 05, 2020
On Broadway
Oct 12, 2019
Scarfe's Follies
Jan 28, 1988
Camp Christmas
Dec 24, 1993
The Christophers
Apr 10, 2026
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
Apr 01, 2003
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
Apr 01, 2004
Süleyman the Magnificent
Jan 01, 1987
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
Jul 02, 2022
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
Mar 23, 2025
Avengers: Doomsday
Dec 16, 2026
Dragged Through Time
Jul 26, 2025
After Stonewall
Jun 06, 1999
No Man's Land
Dying Day
Feb 12, 1980
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
Sep 10, 2025
Guerrilla Distribution
Jan 17, 2007
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Dec 16, 2027
Graceless Go I
Oct 08, 1974
My First Time
Oct 12, 2004
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
Nov 12, 2026
Frank and Percy
Age of Dissent
Jul 12, 1994
Mutant vs. Machine: The Making of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
Jul 14, 2015
Inside the Actors Studio
Aug 14, 1994
The Simpsons
Dec 17, 1989
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jan 26, 2003
The One Show
Aug 14, 2006
The View
Aug 11, 1997
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Jun 08, 2002
The Paul O'Grady Show
Oct 11, 2004
Armchair Thriller
Feb 21, 1978
BBC Play of the Month
Oct 19, 1965
The Oscars
Mar 19, 1953
Churchill
Oct 08, 2003
Vicious
Apr 29, 2013
Who Do You Think You Are?
Oct 12, 2004
Extras
Jul 21, 2005
Saturday Night Live
Oct 11, 1975
An Audience with...
Jan 08, 1978
Great British Theatre
Jun 12, 2021
David Copperfield
Dec 25, 1999
Windmills of the Gods
Feb 07, 1988
Playing Shakespeare
Jul 29, 1984
Sesame Street
Nov 10, 1969
Trailblazer Honors
Jun 27, 2014
ted
Jan 11, 2024
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Feb 25, 2014
The Graham Norton Show
Feb 22, 2007
The Prisoner
Nov 15, 2009
Tales of the City
Sep 28, 1993
The Graham Norton Show
Feb 22, 2007
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Jul 16, 2009
Family Guy
Jan 31, 1999
Real Time with Bill Maher
Feb 21, 2003
Reunited Apart
Apr 27, 2020
Coronation Street
Dec 09, 1960
Perspectives
Apr 24, 2011
Amol Rajan Interviews
Jul 12, 2021
Pillar of Fire
Nov 10, 1981
Parkinson
Jan 09, 1998
Have I Got News for You
Sep 28, 1990
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Dec 21, 2014
Golden Globe Awards
Jan 20, 1944
Billy & Dom Eat the World
Jan 11, 2025
Omnibus
Oct 13, 1967
Playhouse
Mar 13, 1974
BBC Play of the Month
Oct 19, 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Oct 19, 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Oct 19, 1965
David Copperfield
Jan 16, 1966
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Feb 04, 1994
The Wednesday Play
Sep 30, 1964
Golden Globe Awards
Jan 20, 1944
Country Matters
Aug 20, 1972
