Cast
Ian McKellen
Acting
Cast
Ian McKellen
Known for
Acting
Born
1939-05-25
From
Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Also known as Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Ian Murray McKellen, Ian McKellern
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian McKellen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
MOVIE2026
Avengers: Doomsday
as Magneto
★8.5
MOVIE2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Gandalf
★8.4
MOVIE2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
as Gandalf
★7.3
MOVIE2014
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
as Gandalf the Grey
★8.4
MOVIE2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
as Gandalf
★7.5
MOVIE2014
X-Men: Days of Future Past
as Magneto
★7.6
MOVIE2013
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
as Gandalf the Grey
★7.4
MOVIE2012
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
as Gandalf the Grey
★7.0
MOVIE2017
Beauty and the Beast
as Cogsworth
★6.7
MOVIE2006
The Da Vinci Code
as Sir Leigh Teabing
★6.4
MOVIE2025
The Christophers
as Julian Sklar
★6.3
MOVIE2006
Flushed Away
as The Toad (voice)
★7.3
MOVIE2007
Stardust
as Narrator (voice)
★6.1
MOVIE2007
The Golden Compass
as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
★6.5
MOVIE2015
Mr. Holmes
as Sherlock Holmes
★6.4
MOVIE2013
The Wolverine
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1993
Last Action Hero
as Death
★7.0
MOVIE2000
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
as Self - 'Magneto'
★9.0
MOVIE2024
Dragfox
as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
★8.0
MOVIE2001
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
as Self
MOVIE2027
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
as Gandalf
★5.6
MOVIE1994
I'll Do Anything
as John Earl McAlpine
★4.1
MOVIE2019
Cats
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
★6.1
MOVIE2018
All Is True
as Earl of Southampton
★10.0
MOVIE2020
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
★6.7
MOVIE2019
The Good Liar
as Roy Courtnay
★6.0
MOVIE1993
The Ballad of Little Jo
as Percy Corcoran
★9.0
MOVIE1969
The Promise
★10.0
MOVIE2011
The Betty Driver Story
as Self
★6.6
MOVIE1969
A Touch of Love
as George
★6.1
MOVIE1994
The Shadow
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
★6.6
MOVIE1998
Apt Pupil
as Kurt Dussander
★6.5
MOVIE1993
And the Band Played On
as Bill Kraus
★6.5
MOVIE2005
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
as Self
★7.0
MOVIE2013
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
as Self
★6.0
MOVIE2005
Asylum
as Dr. Peter Cleave
★6.5
MOVIE2013
Muse of Fire
as Self
★5.0
MOVIE1981
Priest of Love
as D.H. Lawrence
★5.7
MOVIE1985
Plenty
as Sir Andrew Charleson
★6.4
MOVIE1993
Six Degrees of Separation
as Geoffrey
★6.3
MOVIE2016
The Roof
as And Even Yet Another Fan
★6.3
MOVIE2017
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
as Self
★7.8
MOVIE2013
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
as Self
★6.1
MOVIE1995
Restoration
as Will Gates
★4.7
MOVIE1969
Alfred the Great
as Roger
★6.7
MOVIE2008
King Lear
as King Lear
★5.8
MOVIE2024
The Critic
as Jimmy Erskine
MOVIE2026
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
as Jacob Marley
★6.0
MOVIE1985
Zina
as Kronfeld
★6.7
MOVIE1995
Jack & Sarah
as William
★7.0
MOVIE1992
Gladio
as Aldo Moro (voice)
★6.0
MOVIE2016
Shakespeare on Film
★5.4
MOVIE2005
The Magic Roundabout
as Zebedee (voice)
★6.8
MOVIE1995
Richard III
as Richard III
★5.7
MOVIE2001
Quest for the Ring
as Self
★6.0
MOVIE2013
The Egg Trick
as Magician
★5.5
MOVIE2003
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
as Self
★5.4
MOVIE2021
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
★6.4
MOVIE2018
Animal Crackers
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
MOVIE1988
Scarfe's Follies
★6.4
MOVIE1998
Swept from the Sea
as Dr. James Kennedy
★6.9
MOVIE1998
Gods and Monsters
as James Whale
★6.7
MOVIE1982
The Scarlet Pimpernel
as Chauvelin
★5.6
MOVIE1983
The Keep
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script
as Self
★6.2
MOVIE2015
The Dresser
as Norman
★3.7
MOVIE2003
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
★4.1
MOVIE2021
Hating Peter Tatchell
as Self
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale
as Self
★7.7
MOVIE2012
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
★6.2
MOVIE2003
Emile
as Emile
MOVIE2025
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
as Self (archive footage)
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..
as Self
★8.7
MOVIE2019
On Broadway
as Self
★3.0
MOVIE2014
Miss in Her Teens
as The Prologue
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design
as Self
★10.0
MOVIE1996
An Evening with Lily Savage
as Self
★6.0
MOVIE1989
Scandal
as John Profumo
MOVIE2009
Theatreland
as Self
★6.9
MOVIE1997
Bent
as Uncle Freddie
MOVIE1979
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
as Alexander Ivanov
★7.8
MOVIE2024
Hamlet
as Hamlet
★6.8
MOVIE1995
Cold Comfort Farm
as Amos Starkadder
MOVIE1972
Craven Arms
as David Masterman
MOVIE2014
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto
as Self
★6.4
MOVIE2003
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
as Self
★10.0
MOVIE2014
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
as Self
★8.0
MOVIE1972
Hedda Gabler
as George Tesman
★6.7
MOVIE1989
Countdown to War
as Adolf Hitler
★7.2
MOVIE2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Self - Performer
MOVIETBA
Frank and Percy
as Percy
★7.0
MOVIE2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
as Self
★4.9
MOVIE2006
Doogal
as Zebedee (voice)
★4.9
MOVIE1970
Edward II
as King Edward
MOVIE2007
The Art of Breaking Character
as Self
★4.0
MOVIE2007
For the Love of God
as The Jackdaw
★7.8
MOVIE2016
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
as Self
★6.6
MOVIE2001
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
as Self
★8.1
MOVIE2003
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
as Self
★7.3
MOVIE2017
Edmund the Magnificent
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast
as Self
MOVIE2026
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
as L S Lowry
MOVIE2025
Schadenfreude
as Continuity Announcer
MOVIE2002
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth
as Self
MOVIE1993
A Simple Matter of Justice
as Self
★7.2
MOVIE2018
McKellen: Playing the Part
as Self
★2.7
MOVIE1993
Camp Christmas
★5.9
MOVIE1982
Walter
as Walter
MOVIE1994
Age of Dissent
as Self
★6.5
MOVIE2004
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
as Self
★6.5
MOVIE1999
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
as Self
★6.6
MOVIE1996
Rasputin
as Tsar Nicholas II
★8.8
MOVIE2003
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
★5.7
MOVIE2006
Saint of 9/11
as Narrator
MOVIE2016
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
★2.6
MOVIE1994
To Die For
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
★7.0
MOVIE2024
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
as Self
★7.5
MOVIE2004
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
as Self
★7.5
MOVIE1979
Macbeth
as Macbeth
MOVIETBA
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
as Self
MOVIE2011
Looking for Lowry
as Self
★7.5
MOVIE2012
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
as Self
★6.7
MOVIE1983
Walter and June
as Walter
★10.0
MOVIE1974
Graceless Go I
as Tony
★6.4
MOVIE2005
Neverwas
as Gabriel Finch
★7.3
MOVIE1990
Othello
as Iago
MOVIETBA
No Man's Land
as Spooner
★8.3
MOVIE2017
The Paul O'Grady Story
as Self
MOVIE2025
Dragged Through Time
★9.0
MOVIE1994
David Macaulay: Roman City
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
★8.8
MOVIE2004
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
as Self
MOVIE1994
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
as Self
★3.0
MOVIE1997
Surviving Friendly Fire
★4.5
MOVIE2005
Eighteen
as Jason Anders (voice)
★6.4
MOVIE2000
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
as Self
★8.0
MOVIE2001
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
as Narrator (voice)
MOVIE2016
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
★7.5
MOVIE2016
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
as Spooner
★7.0
MOVIE2000
X-Men
as Magneto
★5.6
MOVIE1999
After Stonewall
as Self
MOVIE2015
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
as Self (archive footage)
★6.7
MOVIE2023
The One Note Man
as Narrator (voice)
★6.4
MOVIE2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
★3.8
MOVIE2022
Quintessentially British
as Self
★8.1
MOVIE2018
National Theatre Live: King Lear
as King Lear
★8.0
MOVIE2022
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
as Self
MOVIE2017
How a Kite Flies
as Mr. Kite (voice)
MOVIE1987
Süleyman the Magnificent
as Narrator
★7.0
MOVIE1982
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
★4.4
MOVIE1997
A Bit Of Scarlet
as Narrator
MOVIETBA
Richard II
as Richard II
★6.0
MOVIE2016
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
MOVIE2022
Hamlet Within
★7.0
MOVIE2003
X2
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
★8.0
MOVIE1980
Dying Day
as Antony Skipling
★8.0
MOVIE1970
Hamlet
as Hamlet
★7.0
MOVIE2010
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
as Narrator (voice)
★9.0
MOVIE1993
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
as Narration (voice)
MOVIE2007
Guerrilla Distribution
as Self
MOVIE2024
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
★3.0
MOVIE2010
Small-Time Revolutionary
as Hamish Miller (voice)
★2.0
MOVIE2004
My First Time
as Narrator
MOVIE2025
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
★6.0
MOVIE2005
The Hobart Shakespeareans
as Self
★7.1
MOVIE2000
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
as Narrator (voice)
★7.0
MOVIE1970
The Tragedy of King Richard II
as King Richard II
★7.0
MOVIE2020
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
★10.0
MOVIE1965
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
as Wolf
★7.0
MOVIE2004