Acting
Ian McKellen
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.
Filmography
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Film · 2027
The Christophers
Film · 2026
Avengers: Doomsday
Film · 2026
Ebenezer
Film · 2026
Frank and Percy
Film · 2026
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
Film · 2026
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen
Film · 2026
Schadenfreude
Film · 2025
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
Film · 2025
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
Film · 2025
Billy & Dom Eat the World
Series · 2025
The Critic
Film · 2024
Hamlet
Film · 2024
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
Film · 2024
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
Film · 2024
Dragfox
Film · 2024
ted
Series · 2024
The One Note Man
Film · 2023
Hamlet Within
Film · 2022
Quintessentially British
Film · 2022
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
Film · 2022
Hating Peter Tatchell
Film · 2021
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Film · 2021
Great British Theatre
Series · 2021
Amol Rajan Interviews
Series · 2021
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
Film · 2020
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
Film · 2020
Reunited Apart
Series · 2020
The Good Liar
Film · 2019
Cats
Film · 2019
On Broadway
Film · 2019
Animal Crackers
Film · 2018
McKellen: Playing the Part
Film · 2018
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Film · 2018
All Is True
Film · 2018
Beauty and the Beast
Film · 2017
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Film · 2017
The Paul O'Grady Story
Film · 2017
Edmund the Magnificent
Film · 2017
How a Kite Flies
Film · 2017
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Film · 2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Film · 2016
The Roof
Film · 2016
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
Film · 2016
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
Film · 2016
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
Film · 2016
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
Film · 2016
Shakespeare on Film
Film · 2016
Mr. Holmes
Film · 2015
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Film · 2015
The Dresser
Film · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Series · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Series · 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Film · 2014
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Film · 2014
Miss in Her Teens
Film · 2014
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Film · 2014
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto
Film · 2014
Trailblazer Honors
Series · 2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Series · 2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Series · 2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Film · 2013
Muse of Fire
Film · 2013
The Wolverine
Film · 2013
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Film · 2013
The Egg Trick
Film · 2013
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
Film · 2013
Vicious
Series · 2013
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Film · 2012
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
Film · 2012
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
Film · 2012
Looking for Lowry
Film · 2011
The Betty Driver Story
Film · 2011
Perspectives
Series · 2011
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
Film · 2010
Small-Time Revolutionary
Film · 2010
The Talk
Series · 2010
Theatreland
Film · 2009
The Prisoner
Series · 2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Series · 2009
King Lear
Film · 2008
The Golden Compass
Film · 2007
Stardust
Film · 2007
For the Love of God
Film · 2007
The Art of Breaking Character
Film · 2007
Guerrilla Distribution
Film · 2007
Pet Shop Boys: Cubism
Film · 2007
The Graham Norton Show
Series · 2007
The Graham Norton Show
Series · 2007
The Da Vinci Code
Film · 2006
Flushed Away
Film · 2006
Doogal
Film · 2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
Film · 2006
Saint of 9/11
Film · 2006
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
Film · 2006
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
Film · 2006
Brett Ratner's X-Diaries
Film · 2006
X3: The Excitement Continues
Film · 2006
The One Show
Series · 2006
Neverwas
Film · 2005
Asylum
Film · 2005
The Magic Roundabout
Film · 2005
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Film · 2005
Eighteen
Film · 2005
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Film · 2005
Extras
Series · 2005
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
Film · 2004
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
Film · 2004
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
Film · 2004
My First Time
Film · 2004
The Paul O'Grady Show
Series · 2004
Who Do You Think You Are?
Series · 2004
Parkinson
Series · 2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Film · 2003
Emile
Film · 2003
X2
Film · 2003
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
Film · 2003
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
Film · 2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
Film · 2003
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
Film · 2003
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
Film · 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Series · 2003
Churchill
Series · 2003
Real Time with Bill Maher
Series · 2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale
Film · 2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..
Film · 2002
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Series · 2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Film · 2001
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Film · 2001
Quest for the Ring
Film · 2001
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
Film · 2001
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
Film · 2001
X-Men
Film · 2000
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
Film · 2000
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
Film · 2000
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Film · 2000
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
Film · 1999
After Stonewall
Film · 1999
David Copperfield
Series · 1999
Family Guy
Series · 1999
Gods and Monsters
Film · 1998
Swept from the Sea
Film · 1998
Apt Pupil
Film · 1998
Parkinson
Series · 1998
Bent
Film · 1997
Surviving Friendly Fire
Film · 1997
A Bit Of Scarlet
Film · 1997
The View
Series · 1997
HARDtalk
Series · 1997
An Evening with Lily Savage
Film · 1996
Rasputin
Film · 1996
TFI Friday
Series · 1996
Jack & Sarah
Film · 1995
Richard III
Film · 1995
Cold Comfort Farm
Film · 1995
Restoration
Film · 1995
Thin Ice
Film · 1995
The Shadow
Film · 1994
To Die For
Film · 1994
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
Film · 1994
I'll Do Anything
Film · 1994
David Macaulay: Roman City
Film · 1994
Age of Dissent
Film · 1994
Inside the Actors Studio
Series · 1994
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Series · 1994
And the Band Played On
Film · 1993
Six Degrees of Separation
Film · 1993
Last Action Hero
Film · 1993
The Ballad of Little Jo
Film · 1993
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
Film · 1993
Camp Christmas
Film · 1993
A Simple Matter of Justice
Film · 1993
Tales of the City
Series · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
Late Show with David Letterman
Series · 1993
Gladio
Film · 1992
Othello
Film · 1990
Have I Got News for You
Series · 1990
Scandal
Film · 1989
Countdown to War
Film · 1989
The Simpsons
Series · 1989
Scarfe's Follies
Film · 1988
Windmills of the Gods
Series · 1988
Süleyman the Magnificent
Film · 1987
Plenty
Film · 1985
Zina
Film · 1985
Theatre Night
Series · 1985
Playing Shakespeare
Series · 1984
The Keep
Film · 1983
Walter and June
Film · 1983
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Film · 1982
Walter
Film · 1982
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
Film · 1982
American Playhouse
Series · 1982
Priest of Love
Film · 1981
Pillar of Fire
Series · 1981
Dying Day
Film · 1980
Macbeth
Film · 1979
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Film · 1979
An Audience with...
Series · 1978
The South Bank Show
Series · 1978
Saturday Night Live
Series · 1975
Graceless Go I
Film · 1974
Playhouse
Series · 1974
Hedda Gabler
Film · 1972
Craven Arms
Film · 1972
Country Matters
Series · 1972
Film '72
Series · 1971
Hamlet
Film · 1970
Edward II
Film · 1970
The Tragedy of King Richard II
Film · 1970
Solo
Series · 1970
Alfred the Great
Film · 1969
A Touch of Love
Film · 1969
The Promise
Film · 1969
Sesame Street
Series · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Series · 1969
Omnibus
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
David Copperfield
Series · 1966
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
Film · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
The Wednesday Play
Series · 1964
Coronation Street
Series · 1960
Tony Awards
Series · 1956
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Golden Globe Awards
Series · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Series · 1944
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
Film
No Man's Land
Film