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.
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Personal info
Gender
Male
Birthday
1939-05-25
Place of birth
Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Images
Cast
The Da Vinci Code
2006
6.73
Gods and Monsters
1998
7.00
The Golden Compass
2007
6.07
Stardust
2007
7.28
Swept from the Sea
1998
6.42
Jack & Sarah
1995
6.70
And the Band Played On
1993
6.46
Six Degrees of Separation
1993
6.44
Neverwas
2005
6.37
Richard III
1995
6.72
Flushed Away
2006
6.30
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1982
6.73
Doogal
2006
4.92
Asylum
2005
5.80
The Shadow
1994
6.06
Scandal
1989
5.93
Apt Pupil
1998
6.53
Cold Comfort Farm
1995
6.76
Last Action Hero
1993
6.48
The Keep
1983
5.62
Macbeth
1979
7.30
Plenty
1985
5.74
Hamlet Within
2022
0.00
Émile
2003
5.75
X-Men
2000
7.00
X2
2003
7.03
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
6.41
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996
0.00
King Lear
2008
6.70
The Magic Roundabout
2004
5.40
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000
7.10
Rasputin
1996
6.50
Priest of Love
1981
5.00
Gladio
1992
7.00
Bent
1997
6.84
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993
5.90
Alfred the Great
1969
4.30
Walter
1982
5.25
Richard II
0.00
Saint of 9/11
2006
5.70
Schadenfreude
0.00
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014
7.53
A Touch of Love
1969
6.40
Theatreland
2009
0.00
To Die For
1994
2.20
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
1.00
Walter and June
1983
7.00
Muse of Fire
2013
6.50
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
1979
0.00
A Bit Of Scarlet
1997
4.60
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982
0.00
The Critic
2024
5.74
Miss in Her Teens
2014
3.00
Zina
1985
5.40
Othello
1990
7.00
For the Love of God
2007
4.00
The One Note Man
2023
7.00
Hamlet
2024
7.80
Mr. Holmes
2015
6.47
I'll Do Anything
1994
5.60
The Wolverine
2013
6.42
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
2013
7.90
Animal Crackers
2017
6.22
Hamlet
1970
0.00
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005
4.00
Quintessentially British
2022
3.80
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
2014
0.00
Looking for Lowry
2011
0.00
The Dresser
2015
6.21
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
2012
7.74
Lady Grey London
2010
7.00
Beauty and the Beast
2017
6.97
Edward II
1970
4.80
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
7.50
The Promise
1969
0.00
Restoration
1995
6.02
Hedda Gabler
1972
0.00
Dragfox
2024
0.00
The Roof
2016
6.30
The Art of Breaking Character
2007
0.00
Quest for the Ring
2001
5.60
The Good Liar
2019
6.69
The Betty Driver Story
2011
10.00
The Paul O'Grady Story
2017
8.30
McKellen: Playing the Part
2018
7.20
Cats
2019
4.05
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2018
8.20
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004
6.70
All Is True
2018
6.04
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994
9.00
Edmund the Magnificent
2017
7.20
How a Kite Flies
2017
0.00
The Egg Trick
2013
6.00
Hating Peter Tatchell
2021
4.20
Eighteen
2005
4.50
Small-Time Revolutionary
2010
4.00
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
2005
6.30
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970
0.00
Countdown to War
1989
5.00
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013
6.80
Shakespeare on Film
2016
6.00
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000
6.98
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
2021
5.40
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020
10.00
On Broadway
2019
8.70
Scarfe's Follies
1988
0.00
Camp Christmas
1993
3.50
Lord of the Piercing
2002
6.50
The Christophers
0.00
The Making of The Two Towers
2003
8.80
Süleyman the Magnificent
1987
0.00
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
2022
8.00
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
0.00
Avengers: Doomsday
2026
0.00
Dragged Through Time
2025
0.00