Ian McKellen
Acting
- Born:
- 1939-05-25
- Place of birth:
- Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
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.
Known For
Filmography
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Avengers: Doomsday
Ebenezer
Frank and Percy
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen
The Christophers
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
Schadenfreude
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
Billy & Dom Eat the World
The Critic
Dragfox
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
Hamlet
ted
The One Note Man
Quintessentially British
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
Hamlet Within
Hating Peter Tatchell
Amol Rajan Interviews
Great British Theatre
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
Reunited Apart
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
Cats
The Good Liar
On Broadway
All Is True
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Animal Crackers
McKellen: Playing the Part
The Paul O'Grady Story
How a Kite Flies
Beauty and the Beast
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Edmund the Magnificent
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
Shakespeare on Film
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
The Roof
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
The Dresser
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Mr. Holmes
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Trailblazer Honors
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Miss in Her Teens
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Muse of Fire
The Wolverine
The Egg Trick
Vicious
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
Looking for Lowry
Perspectives
The Betty Driver Story
The Talk
Small-Time Revolutionary
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
The Prisoner
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Theatreland
King Lear
The Golden Compass
Stardust
Pet Shop Boys: Cubism
The Art of Breaking Character
For the Love of God
The Graham Norton Show
Guerrilla Distribution
Flushed Away
X3: The Excitement Continues
Brett Ratner's X-Diaries
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
The One Show
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Da Vinci Code
Saint of 9/11
Doogal
Neverwas
Asylum
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Extras
The Magic Roundabout
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
Eighteen
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
My First Time
Who Do You Think You Are?
The Paul O'Grady Show
Parkinson
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
The Two Towers: Designing Middle-earth
Властелин Колец: Возвращение Бомжа, или Агроном наносит ответный удар
Churchill
X2
Real Time with Bill Maher
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Emile
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Ring of Bratva
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
Quest for the Ring
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
X-Men
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
David Copperfield
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
After Stonewall
Family Guy
Apt Pupil
Gods and Monsters
Swept from the Sea
Parkinson
Bent
The View
Surviving Friendly Fire
A Bit Of Scarlet
HARDtalk
An Evening with Lily Savage
Rasputin
Film Independent Spirit Awards
TFI Friday
Richard III
Restoration
Jack & Sarah
Thin Ice
Cold Comfort Farm
To Die For
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
Inside the Actors Studio
Age of Dissent
The Shadow
David Macaulay: Roman City
I'll Do Anything
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Camp Christmas
Six Degrees of Separation
A Simple Matter of Justice
Tales of the City
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
And the Band Played On
Late Show with David Letterman
The Ballad of Little Jo
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
Last Action Hero
Gladio
Have I Got News for You
Othello
The Simpsons
Countdown to War
Scandal
Windmills of the Gods
Scarfe's Follies
Süleyman the Magnificent
Zina
Plenty
Theatre Night
Playing Shakespeare
The Keep
Walter and June
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Walter
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
American Playhouse
Pillar of Fire
Priest of Love
Dying Day
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Macbeth
The South Bank Show
An Audience with...
Saturday Night Live
Graceless Go I
Playhouse
Hedda Gabler
Craven Arms
Country Matters
Film '72
Hamlet
Edward II
The Tragedy of King Richard II
Solo
The Promise
Sesame Street
Alfred the Great
A Touch of Love
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Omnibus
ITV Playhouse
David Copperfield
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
BBC Play of the Month
The Wednesday Play
Coronation Street
Tony Awards
The Oscars
Golden Globe Awards
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary