Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is an English actor and British cultural icon, knighted in 1991, celebrated across stage and screen for over six decades of extraordinary performance.
Ian McKellen - Personal Information
- Name: Ian McKellen
- Date of Birth: May 25, 1939
- Place of Birth: Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
- Gender: Male
- Job Title: Actor
- Crew Jobs: Screenplay, Executive Producer, Associate Producer
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.
Selected Filmography
A selection of Ian McKellen's most recent and notable screen appearances across film and television.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (2027) as Gandalf
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026) as Magneto
- Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol (2026) as Jacob Marley
- The Christophers (2026) as Julian Sklar
- LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes (2026) as L S Lowry
- Schadenfreude (2025) as Continuity Announcer
- A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' (2025) as Self (archive footage)
- Dragged Through Time (2025)
- Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness (2025)
- Billy & Dom Eat the World (TV - 2025) as Self
External Links
Explore authoritative profiles and the official website of Ian McKellen.