Ian McKellen
Known for Acting · 214 credits
- Born
- 1939-05-25 (age 87)
- Place of birth
- 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.
Known For
The Simpsons
1989
as Ian McKellen (voice)
Family Guy
1999
as Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
Late Show with David Letterman
1993
as Self - Guest
TV Shows (52)
The Simpsons
1989
as Ian McKellen (voice)
Family Guy
1999
as Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
Late Show with David Letterman
1993
as Self - Guest
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self - Guest
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
as Self
Coronation Street
1960
as Mel Hutchwright
Sesame Street
1969
as Self
The View
1997
as Self - Guest
Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Presenter / Self - Winner
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self
Have I Got News for You
1990
as Self
The One Show
2006
as Self - Guest
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
The Wednesday Play
1964
as Wolf
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014
as Self
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Winner
ted
2024
as Narrator (voice)
BBC Play of the Month
1965
as Captain Plume / Simon Bliss / Ross / T.E. Lawrence / George Tesman
Playhouse
1974
as Alexander
Omnibus
1967
as Self - Reading Poetry
The Oscars
1953
as Self
The Paul O'Grady Show
2004
ITV Playhouse
1967
as Tony
An Audience with...
1978
as Self
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
2002
as Self
Who Do You Think You Are?
2004
as Self
Extras
2005
as Ian McKellen
Parkinson
1998
as Self
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Lyov
Reunited Apart
2020
as Self
Trailblazer Honors
2014
as Self - Speaker
HARDtalk
1997
Vicious
2013
as Freddie Thornhill
The Prisoner
2009
as 2 / Curtis
Tales of the City
1993
as Archibald Anson Gidde
David Copperfield
1999
as Creakle
Playing Shakespeare
1984
David Copperfield
1966
as David Copperfield
Perspectives
2011
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
1994
as Self
Country Matters
1972
as David Masterman
Windmills of the Gods
1988
as Chairman
Inside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self
Amol Rajan Interviews
2021
as Self - Interviewed Guest
Pillar of Fire
1981
as Narrator
Billy & Dom Eat the World
2025
as Self
Churchill
2003
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Great British Theatre
2021
Movies (162)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
as Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
as Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
as Gandalf
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
as Gandalf the Grey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
as Gandalf the Grey
Avengers: Doomsday
2026
as Magneto
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
as Gandalf the Grey
Beauty and the Beast
2017
as Cogsworth
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014
as Magneto
The Christophers
2026
as Julian Sklar
The Da Vinci Code
2006
as Sir Leigh Teabing
Stardust
2007
as Narrator (voice)
Flushed Away
2006
as The Toad (voice)
The Golden Compass
2007
as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Last Action Hero
1993
as Death
Cats
2019
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
Mr. Holmes
2015
as Sherlock Holmes
The Shadow
1994
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
The Good Liar
2019
as Roy Courtnay
Apt Pupil
1998
as Kurt Dussander
Asylum
2005
as Dr. Peter Cleave
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2027
as Gandalf
Scandal
1989
as John Profumo
Restoration
1995
as Will Gates
The Keep
1983
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
Gods and Monsters
1998
as James Whale
Animal Crackers
2018
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Wolverine
2013
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
The Magic Roundabout
2005
as Zebedee (voice)
Six Degrees of Separation
1993
as Geoffrey
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000
as Self - 'Magneto'
And the Band Played On
1993
as Bill Kraus
Bent
1997
as Uncle Freddie
Richard III
1995
as Richard III
Plenty
1985
as Sir Andrew Charleson
Doogal
2006
as Zebedee (voice)
Jack & Sarah
1995
as William
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
2004
as Self
Hamlet
2024
as Hamlet
The Critic
2024
as Jimmy Erskine
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013
as Self
All Is True
2018
as Earl of Southampton
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1982
as Chauvelin
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
as Self - Performer
Swept from the Sea
1998
as Dr. James Kennedy
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
2005
as Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
2016
as Self
I'll Do Anything
1994
as John Earl McAlpine
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
2003
as Self
On Broadway
2019
as Self
Muse of Fire
2013
as Self
Schadenfreude
2025
as Continuity Announcer
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
2003
as Self
Cold Comfort Farm
1995
as Amos Starkadder
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
2004
as Self
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
2021
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
2001
as Self
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
2003
Rasputin
1996
as Tsar Nicholas II
The Dresser
2015
as Norman
Quest for the Ring
2001
as Self
Neverwas
2005
as Gabriel Finch
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
2003
as Self
Hating Peter Tatchell
2021
as Self
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
2013
as Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
as Self
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
2026
as Jacob Marley
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
2024
as Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
2014
as Self
Edward II
1970
as King Edward
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
2015
as Self (archive footage)
King Lear
2008
as King Lear
Priest of Love
1981
as D.H. Lawrence
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996
as Self
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
2012
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993
as Percy Corcoran
Macbeth
1979
as Macbeth
Othello
1990
as Iago
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
2017
as Self
Walter
1982
as Walter
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
2025
as Self (archive footage)
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000
as Narrator (voice)
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
1999
as Self
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005
as Self
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
Countdown to War
1989
as Adolf Hitler
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
2003
as Self
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004
as Self
Eighteen
2005
as Jason Anders (voice)
To Die For
1994
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2018
as King Lear
The Roof
2016
as And Even Yet Another Fan
Zina
1985
as Kronfeld
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970
as King Richard II
For the Love of God
2007
as The Jackdaw
Frank and Percy
as Percy
X-Men
2000
as Magneto
A Touch of Love
1969
as George
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024
Quintessentially British
2022
as Self
Scarfe's Follies
1988
McKellen: Playing the Part
2018
as Self
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
1965
as Wolf
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982
The One Note Man
2023
as Narrator (voice)
Emile
2003
as Emile
Walter and June
1983
as Walter
Alfred the Great
1969
as Roger
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
2016
as Spooner
The Art of Breaking Character
2007
as Self
Miss in Her Teens
2014
as The Prologue
X2
2003
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
1994
as Self
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
2000
as Self
Edmund the Magnificent
2017
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020
Hamlet Within
2022
About 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 T… With 214 credits spanning from 1944 to 2027, Ian McKellen has appeared in 162 films and 52 TV shows.
Fans searching for Ian McKellen movies, Ian McKellen filmography, or the latest projects starring Ian McKellen can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Ian McKellen Movies
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — as Gandalf
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) — as Gandalf
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) — as Gandalf
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) — as Gandalf the Grey
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) — as Gandalf the Grey
Where to Watch Ian McKellen Films
Most Ian McKellen movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Ian McKellen, check our movies catalogue and browse page.