Sir Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE (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 he 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, 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 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.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(Gandalf)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(Gandalf)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(Gandalf)
The Da Vinci Code
(Sir Leigh Teabing)
Gods and Monsters
(James Whale)
The Golden Compass
(Iorek Byrnison (voice))
Stardust
(Narrator (voice))
Swept from the Sea
(Dr. James Kennedy)
Jack & Sarah
(William)
And the Band Played On
(Bill Kraus)
Six Degrees of Separation
(Geoffrey)
Neverwas
(Gabriel Finch)
Richard III
(Richard III)
Flushed Away
(The Toad (voice))
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
The Scarlet Pimpernel
(Chauvelin)
Doogal
(Zebedee (voice))
Asylum
(Dr. Peter Cleave)
The Shadow
(Dr. Reinhardt Lane)
Scandal
(John Profumo)
Cold Comfort Farm
(Amos Starkadder)
Apt Pupil
(Kurt Dussander)
Last Action Hero
(Death)
The Keep
(Dr. Theodore Cuza)
Macbeth
(Macbeth)
Plenty
(Sir Andrew Charleson)
Hamlet Within
Émile
(Emile)
X-Men
(Magneto)
X2
(Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto)
X-Men: The Last Stand
(Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto)
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
(Wolf)
An Evening with Lily Savage
(Self)
King Lear
(King Lear)
The Magic Roundabout
(Zebedee (voice))
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
(Narrator (voice))
Rasputin
(Tsar Nicholas II)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(Gandalf the Grey)
Priest of Love
(D.H. Lawrence)
Gladio
(Aldo Moro (voice))
Bent
(Uncle Freddie)
The Ballad of Little Jo
(Percy Corcoran)
Alfred the Great
(Roger)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(Gandalf the Grey)
Walter
(Walter)
Richard II
(Richard II)
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
(Self)
Saint of 9/11
(Narrator)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
(Gandalf the Grey)
Schadenfreude
(Continuity Announcer)
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Magneto)
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
(Self)
A Touch of Love
(George)
Theatreland
(Himself)
To Die For
(Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice))
Surviving Friendly Fire
Walter and June
(Walter)
Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories
(Self)
Muse of Fire
(Self)
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
(Alexander Ivanov)
A Bit Of Scarlet
(Narrator)
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
The Critic
(Jimmy Erskine)
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
(Narrator (voice))
Miss in Her Teens
(The Prologue)
Othello
(Iago)
Zina
(Kronfeld)
Amol Rajan Interviews Ian McKellen
(Self)
For the Love of God
(The Jackdaw)
The One Note Man
(Narrator (voice))
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
(Prospero's Speech Reader (voice))
Hamlet
(Hamlet)
Mr. Holmes
(Sherlock Holmes)
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
(Narration (voice))
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
I'll Do Anything
(John Earl McAlpine)
The Wolverine
(Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited))
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
(Self)
Animal Crackers
(Horatio P. Huntington (voice))
Hamlet
(Hamlet)
The Hobart Shakespeareans
(Himself)
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
(Self)
Quintessentially British
(Self)
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
(Self)
Looking for Lowry
(Himself)
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
(Self (archive footage))
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
(Self)
The Dresser
(Norman)
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
(The Great Intelligence (voice))
Lady Grey London
Beauty and the Beast
(Cogsworth)
Edward II
(King Edward)
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
(Self - Performer)
The Promise
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
(Self)
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
(Self)
Restoration
(Will Gates)
Hedda Gabler
(George Tesman)
Dragfox
(Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking))
The Roof
(And Even Yet Another Fan)
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men - Making X2
The Art of Breaking Character
(Self)
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
(Self)
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
(Spooner)
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
(Self)
Quest for the Ring
(Self)
A Passage to Middle-Earth: Making of 'Lord of the Rings'
(Self)
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
(Narrator (voice))
Hamlet Revenant
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
(Self)
The Good Liar
(Roy Courtnay)
The Betty Driver Story
(Self)
The Paul O'Grady Story
(Self)
McKellen: Playing the Part
(Himself)
Cats
(Gus, the Theatre Cat)
National Theatre Live: King Lear
(King Lear)
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
(Self)
All Is True
(Earl of Southampton)
David Macaulay: Roman City
(Augustus Caesar (voice))
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
(Self)
Edmund the Magnificent
(Self - Narrator (voice))
How a Kite Flies
(Mr. Kite (voice))
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
(Self)
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
(Self)
Marley
(Scrooge (rumored))
The Egg Trick
(Magician)
Hating Peter Tatchell
(Self)
Eighteen
(Jason Anders (voice))
Small-Time Revolutionary
(Hamish Miller (voice))
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
(Self)
The Tragedy of King Richard II
(King Richard II)
Countdown to War
(Adolf Hitler)
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
(Self)
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
Shakespeare on Film
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
(Self - 'Magneto')
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
(Dr. Charles Marland-White)
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
On Broadway
(Self)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
(Self (archive footage))
Scarfe's Follies
Inside the Actors Studio
(Self)
The Simpsons
(Ian McKellen (voice))
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The One Show
(Self - Guest)
The View
(Self - Guest)
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
(Self)
The Paul O'Grady Show
Armchair Thriller
(Anthony Skipling)
BBC Play of the Month
(Captain Plume)
The Oscars
(Self)
David Copperfield
(David Copperfield)
Churchill
(Himself - Narrator (voice))
Country Matters
(David Masterman)
Playhouse
Vicious
(Freddie Thornhill)
Who Do You Think You Are?
(Self)
Doctor Who
(Voice of the Snowman)
Extras
(Ian McKellen)
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Host)
An Audience with...
(Self)
Great British Theatre
David Copperfield
(Creakle)
Windmills of the Gods
(Chairman)
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
(Self)
Playing Shakespeare
Sesame Street
(Himself)
Trailblazer Honors
(Self - Speaker)
ted
(Narrator (voice))
Late Night with Seth Meyers
(Self)
The Graham Norton Show
(Self - Guest)
The Prisoner
(2 / Curtis)
Tales of the City
(Archibald Anson Gidde)
The Graham Norton Show
(Self)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
(Self - Guest)
Family Guy
(Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice))
Real Time with Bill Maher
(Self)
Reunited Apart
(Self)
Billy And Dom Eat The World
(Self)
Coronation Street
(Mel Hutchwright)
Perspectives
Amol Rajan Interviews
(Self - Interviewed Guest)
Pillar of Fire
(Narrator)
Parkinson
(Self)
Have I Got News for You
(Self)