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.
162 movies · 57 shows
The Christophers
2026·6.8
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
2026·0.0
Schadenfreude
2025·0.0
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
2025·0.0
Dragged Through Time
2025·0.0
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025·0.0
The Critic
2024·5.8
Dragfox
2024·9.0
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024·0.0
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
2024·7.0
Hamlet
2024·7.8
The One Note Man
2023·6.7
Quintessentially British
2022·3.8
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
2022·8.0
Hamlet Within
2022·0.0
Hating Peter Tatchell
2021·4.1
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
2021·5.4
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020·7.0
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020·10.0
Cats
2019·4.1
The Good Liar
2019·6.7
On Broadway
2019·8.7
All Is True
2018·6.1
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2018·8.1
Animal Crackers
2018·6.4
McKellen: Playing the Part
2018·7.2
The Paul O'Grady Story
2017·8.3
How a Kite Flies
2017·0.0
Beauty and the Beast
2017·7.0
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
2017·6.3
Edmund the Magnificent
2017·7.3
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
2016·7.8
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
2016·7.5
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
2016·0.0
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
2016·6.0
Shakespeare on Film
2016·6.0
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
2016·0.0
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016·7.2
The Roof
2016·6.3
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
2015·0.0
The Dresser
2015·6.2
Mr. Holmes
2015·6.5
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014·7.3
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto
2014·0.0
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
2014·10.0
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014·7.5
Miss in Her Teens
2014·3.0
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013·7.6
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013·7.0
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
2013·7.8
Muse of Fire
2013·6.5
The Wolverine
2013·6.4
The Egg Trick
2013·6.0
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
2012·7.7
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012·7.4
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
2012·7.5
Looking for Lowry
2011·0.0
The Betty Driver Story
2011·10.0
Small-Time Revolutionary
2010·3.0
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
2010·7.0
Theatreland
2009·0.0
King Lear
2008·6.7
The Golden Compass
2007·6.1
Stardust
2007·7.3
The Art of Breaking Character
2007·0.0
For the Love of God
2007·4.0
Guerrilla Distribution
2007·0.0
Flushed Away
2006·6.3
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
2006·8.8
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
2006·8.9
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006·6.4
The Da Vinci Code
2006·6.7
Saint of 9/11
2006·5.7
Doogal
2006·4.9
Neverwas
2005·6.4
Asylum
2005·6.0
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005·6.0
The Magic Roundabout
2005·5.4
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
2005·6.5
Eighteen
2005·4.5
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
2004·6.5
My First Time
2004·2.0
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004·7.5
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004·7.0
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
2003·6.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003·8.5
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
2003·8.1
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
2003·7.0
X2
2003·7.0
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003·3.7
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
2003·5.5
Emile
2003·6.2
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002·8.4
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script
2002·0.0
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design
2002·0.0
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast
2002·0.0
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth
2002·0.0
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale
2002·0.0
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..
2002·0.0
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001·6.6
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001·8.4
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
2001·8.0
Quest for the Ring
2001·5.7
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001·8.0
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
2000·6.4
X-Men
2000·7.0
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000·7.0
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000·7.1
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
1999·6.5
After Stonewall
1999·5.6
Apt Pupil
1998·6.6
Gods and Monsters
1998·6.9
Swept from the Sea
1998·6.4
Bent
1997·6.9
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997·3.0
A Bit Of Scarlet
1997·4.4
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996·10.0
Rasputin
1996·6.6
Richard III
1995·6.8
Restoration
1995·6.1
Jack & Sarah
1995·6.7
Cold Comfort Farm
1995·6.8
To Die For
1994·2.6
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
1994·0.0
Age of Dissent
1994·0.0
The Shadow
1994·6.1
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994·9.0
I'll Do Anything
1994·5.6
Camp Christmas
1993·2.7
Six Degrees of Separation
1993·6.4
A Simple Matter of Justice
1993·0.0
And the Band Played On
1993·6.5
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993·6.0
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
1993·9.0
Last Action Hero
1993·6.5
Gladio
1992·7.0
Othello
1990·7.3
Countdown to War
1989·6.7
Scandal
1989·6.0
Scarfe's Follies
1988·0.0
Süleyman the Magnificent
1987·0.0
Zina
1985·6.0
Plenty
1985·5.7
The Keep
1983·5.6
Walter and June
1983·6.7
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1982·6.7
Walter
1982·5.9
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982·7.0
Priest of Love
1981·5.0
Dying Day
1980·8.0
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
1979·0.0
Macbeth
1979·7.5
Graceless Go I
1974·10.0
Hedda Gabler
1972·8.0
Craven Arms
1972·0.0
Hamlet
1970·8.0
Edward II
1970·4.9
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970·7.0
The Promise
1969·9.0
Alfred the Great
1969·4.7
A Touch of Love
1969·6.6
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
1965·10.0