10.0
10.0
The Betty Driver Story
2011
as Self
Ian McKellen
Also known as: Sir Ian Murray McKellen, Ian Murray McKellen, Sir Ian McKellen
Acting
Born:May 25, 1939(age 87)
Birthplace:Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Nationality:United Kingdom
Education:St Catharine's College, Bolton School
N/A
CommunityBiography
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.
Notable Works
The Lord of the RingsX-MenThe Hobbit trilogyBeauty and the BeastAvengers: Doomsday
Filmography (156 movies)
10.0
10.0
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020
9.0
9.0
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
9.0
9.0
Dragfox
2024
as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
8.8
8.8
The Making of The Two Towers
2003
8.8
8.8
The Making of the Return of the King
2004
as Self
8.7
8.7
On Broadway
2019
as Self
8.5
8.5
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
as Gandalf
8.5
8.5
Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories
2003
as Self
8.4
8.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
as Gandalf
8.4
8.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
as Gandalf
8.3
8.3
The Paul O'Grady Story
2017
as Self
8.2
8.2
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2018
as King Lear
8.1
8.1
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
2003
as Self
8.0
8.0
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making 'X2'
2003
8.0
8.0
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
2022
as Self
8.0
8.0
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
2001
as Self
7.8
7.8
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
2016
as Self
7.7
7.7
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
2012
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
7.6
7.6
Hamlet
2024
as Hamlet
7.6
7.6
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
as Gandalf the Grey
7.5
7.5
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014
as Magneto
7.5
7.5
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
2016
as Spooner
7.5
7.5
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
2012
as Self
7.4
7.4
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
as Gandalf the Grey
7.3
7.3
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
as Gandalf the Grey
7.3
7.3
Edmund the Magnificent
2017
as Self - Narrator (voice)
7.3
7.3
Macbeth
1979
as Macbeth
7.2
7.2
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
as Self - Performer
7.2
7.2
McKellen: Playing the Part
2018
as Himself
7.1
7.1
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000
as Narrator (voice)
7.0
7.0
X2
2003
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
7.0
7.0
X-Men
2000
as Magneto
7.0
7.0
Lady Grey London
2010
7.0
7.0
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
2024
as Self
7.0
7.0
Gladio
1992
as Aldo Moro (voice)
7.0
7.0
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
2010
as Narrator (voice)
7.0
7.0
Othello
1990
as Iago
7.0
7.0
Walter and June
1983
as Walter
7.0
7.0
The One Note Man
2023
as Narrator (voice)
7.0
7.0
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000
as Self - 'Magneto'
7.0
7.0
Beauty and the Beast
2017
as Cogsworth
6.9
6.9
Gods and Monsters
1998
as James Whale
6.9
6.9
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013
as Self
6.8
6.8
Bent
1997
as Uncle Freddie
6.8
6.8
The Christophers
2026
as Julian Sklar
6.8
6.8
Cold Comfort Farm
1995
as Amos Starkadder
6.7
6.7
The Da Vinci Code
2006
as Sir Leigh Teabing
6.7
6.7
Richard III
1995
Screenplay
6.7
6.7
Jack & Sarah
1995
as William
6.7
6.7
King Lear
2008
as King Lear
6.7
6.7
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1982
as Chauvelin
6.7
6.7
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004
as Self
6.7
6.7
The Good Liar
2019
as Roy Courtnay
6.5
6.5
Apt Pupil
1998
as Kurt Dussander
6.5
6.5
Rasputin
1996
as Tsar Nicholas II
6.5
6.5
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
as Self
6.5
6.5
Muse of Fire
2013
as Self
6.5
6.5
Mr. Holmes
2015
as Sherlock Holmes
6.5
6.5
Last Action Hero
1993
as Death
6.4
6.4
Six Degrees of Separation
1993
as Geoffrey
6.4
6.4
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
6.4
6.4
A Touch of Love
1969
as George
6.4
6.4
Neverwas
2005
as Gabriel Finch
6.4
6.4
Swept from the Sea
1998
as Dr. James Kennedy
6.3
6.3
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
2017
as Self
6.3
6.3
Flushed Away
2006
as The Toad (voice)
6.3
6.3
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
2005
as Self
6.3
6.3
The Roof
2016
as And Even Yet Another Fan
6.2
6.2
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
2003
as Self
6.2
6.2
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
2000
as Self
6.2
6.2
Animal Crackers
2017
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
6.2
6.2
The Dresser
2015
as Norman
6.1
6.1
The Golden Compass
2007
as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
6.1
6.1
The Shadow
1994
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
6.0
6.0
Restoration
1995
as Will Gates
6.0
6.0
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
2004
as Self
6.0
6.0
All Is True
2018
as Earl of Southampton
6.0
6.0
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
1999
as Self
6.0
6.0
The Egg Trick
2013
as Magician
6.0
6.0
Shakespeare on Film
2016
6.0
6.0
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
2016
6.0
6.0
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020
6.0
6.0
Scandal
1989
as John Profumo
5.9
5.9
Asylum
2005
as Dr. Peter Cleave
5.9
5.9
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
2003
as Self
5.9
5.9
The Critic
2024
as Jimmy Erskine
5.8
5.8
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993
as Percy Corcoran
5.8
5.8
Émile
2003
as Emile
5.7
5.7
Saint of 9/11
2006
as Narrator
5.7
5.7
Plenty
1985
as Sir Andrew Charleson
5.6
5.6
Quest for the Ring
2001
as Self
5.6
5.6
The Keep
1983
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
5.5
5.5
I'll Do Anything
1994
as John Earl McAlpine
5.4
5.4
The Magic Roundabout
2004
as Zebedee (voice)
5.4
5.4
Zina
1985
as Kronfeld
5.4
5.4
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
2021
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
5.2
5.2
Walter
1982
as Walter
5.0
5.0
Countdown to War
1989
as Adolf Hitler
4.9
4.9
Doogal
2006
as Zebedee (voice)
4.8
4.8
Priest of Love
1981
as D.H. Lawrence
4.5
4.5
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003
4.3
4.3
Alfred the Great
1969
as Roger
4.2
4.2
Eighteen
2005
as Jason Anders (voice)
4.2
4.2
Edward II
1970
as King Edward
4.1
4.1
Cats
2019
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
4.1
4.1
A Bit Of Scarlet
1997
as Narrator
4.0
4.0
For the Love of God
2007
as The Jackdaw
4.0
4.0
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005
as Himself
3.8
3.8
Quintessentially British
2022
as Self
3.7
3.7
Hating Peter Tatchell
2021
as Self
3.0
3.0
Small-Time Revolutionary
2010
as Hamish Miller (voice)
3.0
3.0
Miss in Her Teens
2014
as The Prologue
2.7
2.7
Camp Christmas
1993
2.0
2.0
My First Time
2004
as Narrator
2.0
2.0
To Die For
1994
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
1.0
1.0
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
Frank and Percy
TBA
as Percy
Hedda Gabler
1972
as George Tesman
The Promise
1969
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
2016
as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
1993
as Narration (voice)
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
2014
as Self
Looking for Lowry
2011
as Himself
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
1979
as Alexander Ivanov
How a Kite Flies
2017
as Mr. Kite (voice)
Avengers: Doomsday
2026
as Magneto
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970
as King Richard II
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
2016
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
2025
as Himself (archive footage)
Richard II
TBA
as Richard II
Theatreland
2009
as Himself
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001
as Narrator (voice)
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004
Hamlet Within
2022
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
2015
as Self (archive footage)
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2027
as Gandalf
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
1965
as Wolf
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996
as Self
Schadenfreude
TBA
as Continuity Announcer
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
1994
Hamlet
1970
as Hamlet
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
TBA
as Self
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024
The Art of Breaking Character
2007
as Self
Scarfe's Follies
1988
Süleyman the Magnificent
1987
as Narrator
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
Dragged Through Time
2025
No Man's Land
TBA
as Spooner
Dying Day
1980
as Antony Skipling
Guerrilla Distribution
2007
as Himself
Graceless Go I
1974
as Tony
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
2026
M4's The Hobbit Book Edit
2021
as Gandalf el Gris
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