Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born May 25, 1939) is an English actor. He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BIF Award, two Saturn Awards, four Drama Desk Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards. He has also received two Academy Award nominations, eight BAFTA film and TV nominations and five Emmy Award nominations. McKellen's work spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. His notable film roles include Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and Magneto in the X-Men films.
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Known For
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
(2014)
Gandalf
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(2014)
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(2001)
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(2003)
Gandalf
Beauty and the Beast
(2017)
Cogsworth
Flushed Away
(2006)
The Toad (voice)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(2012)
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002)
Gandalf
The Da Vinci Code
(2006)
Sir Leigh Teabing
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(2013)
Gandalf
Stardust
(2007)
Narrator (voice)
Cats
(2019)
Gus, the Theatre Cat
Doogal
(2006)
Zebedee (voice)
Last Action Hero
(1993)
Death
The Golden Compass
(2007)
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
The Keep
(1983)
Dr. Theodore Cuza
Full Filmography
Acting
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
(1965)
Wolf
Alfred the Great
(1969)
Roger
A Touch of Love
(1969)
George
The Promise
(1969)
Edward II
(1970)
King Edward
The Tragedy of King Richard II
(1970)
King Richard II
Hamlet
(1970)
Hamlet
Hedda Gabler
(1972)
George Tesman
The Vanishing Army
(1978)
Macbeth
(1979)
Macbeth
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
(1979)
Alexander Ivanov
Priest of Love
(1981)
D.H. Lawrence
The Scarlet Pimpernel
(1982)
Chauvelin
Walter
(1982)
Walter
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
(1982)
The Keep
(1983)
Dr. Theodore Cuza
Walter and June
(1983)
Walter
Plenty
(1985)
Sir Andrew Charleson
Zina
(1985)
Kronfeld
Scandal
(1989)
John Profumo
Countdown to War
(1989)
Adolf Hitler
Othello
(1990)
Iago
Gladio
(1992)
Aldo Moro (voice)
And the Band Played On
(1993)
Bill Kraus
Six Degrees of Separation
(1993)
Geoffrey
Last Action Hero
(1993)
Death
The Ballad of Little Jo
(1993)
Percy Corcoran
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
(1993)
Narration (voice)
The Shadow
(1994)
Dr. Reinhardt Lane
To Die For
(1994)
Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
I'll Do Anything
(1994)
John Earl McAlpine
David Macaulay: Roman City
(1994)
Augustus Caesar (voice)
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
(1994)
Jack & Sarah
(1995)
William
Richard III
(1995)
Richard III
Cold Comfort Farm
(1995)
Amos Starkadder
Restoration
(1995)
Will Gates
Rasputin
(1996)
Tsar Nicholas II
An Evening with Lily Savage
(1996)
Self
Bent
(1997)
Uncle Freddie
A Bit Of Scarlet
(1997)
Narrator
Surviving Friendly Fire
(1997)
Swept from the Sea
(1998)
Dr. James Kennedy
Gods and Monsters
(1998)
James Whale
Apt Pupil
(1998)
Kurt Dussander
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
(1999)
Self
X-Men
(2000)
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
(2000)
Narrator (voice)
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
(2000)
Self
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
(2000)
Self - 'Magneto'
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(2001)
Gandalf
Quest for the Ring
(2001)
Self
A Passage to Middle-earth: Making of 'Lord of the Rings'
(2001)
Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
(2001)
Self
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
(2001)
Narrator (voice)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002)
Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(2003)
Gandalf
Émile
(2003)
Emile
X2
(2003)
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
(2003)
Self
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
(2003)
Self
Film Collectibles: Capturing Movie Memories
(2003)
Himself
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
(2004)
Self
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
(2004)
Neverwas
(2005)
Gabriel Finch
Asylum
(2005)
Dr. Peter Cleave
The Magic Roundabout
(2005)
Zebedee (voice)
The Hobart Shakespeareans
(2005)
Himself
Eighteen
(2005)
Jason Anders (voice)
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
(2005)
Self
The Da Vinci Code
(2006)
Sir Leigh Teabing
Flushed Away
(2006)
The Toad (voice)
Doogal
(2006)
Zebedee (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand
(2006)
Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Saint of 9/11
(2006)
Narrator
The Golden Compass
(2007)
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Stardust
(2007)
Narrator (voice)
For the Love of God
(2007)
The Jackdaw
King Lear
(2008)
King Lear
Theatreland
(2009)
Himself
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
(2010)
Narrator (voice)
Small-Time Revolutionary
(2010)
Hamish Miller (voice)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
(2010)
Self (archive footage)
Lady Grey London
(2010)
Looking for Lowry
(2011)
Himself
The Betty Driver Story
(2011)
Himself (as Sir Ian McKellan)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(2012)
Gandalf
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
(2012)
Himself
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
(2012)
The Great Intelligence (voice)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(2013)
Gandalf
Muse of Fire
(2013)
Self
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
(2013)
Himself
The Wolverine
(2013)
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
The Egg Trick
(2013)
Magician
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
(2013)
Self
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
(2014)
Gandalf
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(2014)
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
Miss in Her Teens
(2014)
The Prologue
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
(2014)
Self
Mr. Holmes
(2015)
Sherlock Holmes
The Dresser
(2015)
Norman
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
(2015)
Self (archive footage)
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
(2016)
Self - Performer
The Roof
(2016)
And Even Yet Another Fan
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
(2016)
Spooner
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
(2016)
Self
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
(2016)
Shakespeare on Film
(2016)
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
(2016)
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
(2016)
Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
Beauty and the Beast
(2017)
Cogsworth
Animal Crackers
(2017)
Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
(2017)
Self
The Paul O'Grady Story
(2017)
Himself
Edmund the Magnificent
(2017)
Self - Narrator (voice)
How a Kite Flies
(2017)
Mr. Kite (voice)
McKellen: Playing the Part
(2018)
Himself
National Theatre Live: King Lear
(2018)
King Lear
All Is True
(2018)
Earl of Southampton
The Good Liar
(2019)
Roy Courtnay
Cats
(2019)
Gus, the Theatre Cat
On Broadway
(2019)
Self
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
(2020)
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
(2020)
Hating Peter Tatchell
(2021)
Self
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
(2021)
Dr. Charles Marland-White
Quintessentially British
(2022)
Self
Hamlet Within
(2022)
Amol Rajan Interviews Ian McKellen
(2022)
Self
The Critic
(2023)
Jimmy Erskine
The One Note Man
(2023)
Narrator (voice)
Hamlet
(2024)
Hamlet
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
(2024)
Self
Writing
Production