Avengers: Doomsday2026
As Magneto
Ian McKellen
Born
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 (171)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003
As Gandalf
TMDb 8.5 / 10
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001
As Gandalf
TMDb 8.4 / 10
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002
As Gandalf
TMDb 8.4 / 10
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies2014
As Gandalf the Grey
TMDb 7.3 / 10
X-Men: Days of Future Past2014
As Magneto
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Beauty and the Beast2017
As Cogsworth
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey2012
As Gandalf the Grey
TMDb 7.4 / 10
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug2013
As Gandalf the Grey
TMDb 7.6 / 10
The Da Vinci Code2006
As Sir Leigh Teabing
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Flushed Away2006
As The Toad (voice)
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Last Action Hero1993
As Death
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Golden Compass2007
As Iorek Byrnison (voice)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Stardust2007
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Ebenezer2026
As Jacob Marley
The Christophers2026
As Julian Sklar
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Mr. Holmes2015
As Sherlock Holmes
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Good Liar2019
As Roy Courtnay
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Cats2019
As Gus, the Theatre Cat
TMDb 4.1 / 10
The Shadow1994
As Dr. Reinhardt Lane
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet2020
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Gladio1992
As Aldo Moro (voice)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Apt Pupil1998
As Kurt Dussander
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Wolverine2013
As Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Asylum2005
As Dr. Peter Cleave
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Animal Crackers2018
As Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Critic2024
As Jimmy Erskine
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Six Degrees of Separation1993
As Geoffrey
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Gods and Monsters1998
As James Whale
TMDb 6.9 / 10
The Keep1983
As Dr. Theodore Cuza
TMDb 5.6 / 10
King Lear2008
As King Lear
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Dragfox2024
As Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Richard III1995
As Richard III
TMDb 6.8 / 10
The Dresser2015
As Norman
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum2027
As Gandalf
Restoration1995
As Will Gates
TMDb 6.1 / 10
The Magic Roundabout2005
As Zebedee (voice)
TMDb 5.4 / 10
And the Band Played On1993
As Bill Kraus
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Scandal1989
As John Profumo
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Thin Ice1995
As Ian McKellen
TMDb 5.0 / 10
I'll Do Anything1994
As John Earl McAlpine
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Scarlet Pimpernel1982
As Chauvelin
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Emile2003
As Emile
TMDb 6.2 / 10
A Touch of Love1969
As George
TMDb 6.6 / 10
All Is True2018
As Earl of Southampton
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Zina1985
As Kronfeld
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Jack & Sarah1995
As William
TMDb 6.8 / 10
X-Men: The Mutant Watch2000
As Self - 'Magneto'
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Bent1997
As Uncle Freddie
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Muse of Fire2013
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin2013
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Swept from the Sea1998
As Dr. James Kennedy
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Promise
The Promise1969
TMDb 9.0 / 10
McKellen: Playing the Part2018
As Self
TMDb 7.2 / 10
The Ballad of Little Jo1993
As Percy Corcoran
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Doogal2006
As Zebedee (voice)
TMDb 4.9 / 10
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin2017
As Self
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Priest of Love1981
As D.H. Lawrence
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Rasputin1996
As Tsar Nicholas II
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring2001
As Self
TMDb 6.6 / 10
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot2013
As Self
TMDb 7.8 / 10
Neverwas2005
As Gabriel Finch
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Doctor Who: The Snowmen2012
As The Great Intelligence (voice)
TMDb 7.7 / 10
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'2001
As Self
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Hamlet2024
As Hamlet
TMDb 7.8 / 10
The Betty Driver Story2011
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Plenty1985
As Sir Andrew Charleson
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC2016
As Self - Performer
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Infinitum: Subject Unknown2021
As Dr. Charles Marland-White
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Theatreland2009
As Self
Schadenfreude2025
As Continuity Announcer
Brett Ratner's X-Diaries2006
As Self
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler1972
As George Tesman
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Eighteen2005
As Jason Anders (voice)
TMDb 4.5 / 10
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man2000
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Craven Arms
Craven Arms1972
As David Masterman
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X22003
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
National Theatre Live: King Lear2018
As King Lear
TMDb 8.1 / 10
To Die For1994
As Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
TMDb 2.6 / 10
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King2003
As Self
TMDb 8.1 / 10
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale1999
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005
As Self
TMDb 6.4 / 10
After Stonewall1999
As Self
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Roof2016
As And Even Yet Another Fan
TMDb 6.3 / 10
A Simple Matter of Justice1993
As Self
X-Men: Premieres Around the World2003
As Self
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Miss in Her Teens2014
As The Prologue
TMDb 3.0 / 10
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!2004
As Self
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Macbeth1979
As Macbeth
TMDb 7.5 / 10
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script2002
As Self
An Evening with Lily Savage1996
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'2004
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne1965
As Wolf
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men2003
TMDb 3.7 / 10
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour1979
As Alexander Ivanov
On Broadway2019
As Self
TMDb 8.7 / 10
Graceless Go I
Graceless Go I1974
As Tony
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The One Note Man2023
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Quest for the Ring2001
As Self
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Alfred the Great1969
As Roger
TMDb 4.8 / 10
The Making of 'The Return of the King'2006
As Self
TMDb 8.8 / 10
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cameras in Middle-earth2002
As Self
Cold Comfort Farm1995
As Amos Starkadder
TMDb 6.8 / 10
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land2016
As Spooner
TMDb 7.5 / 10
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'2025
As Self (archive footage)
X3: The Excitement Continues
X3: The Excitement Continues2006
As Self
Camp Christmas1993
TMDb 2.7 / 10
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast2002
As Self
Walter1982
As Walter
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Hating Peter Tatchell2021
As Self
TMDb 4.1 / 10
Nelson Mandela Redrawn2014
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes2026
As L S Lowry
Hamlet1970
As Hamlet
TMDb 8.0 / 10
The Tragedy of King Richard II1970
As King Richard II
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop + Costume Design2002
As Self
Scarfe's Follies1988
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness2025
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto2014
As Self
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!2000
As Self
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Ian McKellen2026
As Self
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Road Goes Ever On..2002
As Self
A Bit Of Scarlet1997
As Narrator
TMDb 4.4 / 10
Frank and Percy2026
As Percy
Countdown to War1989
As Adolf Hitler
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Looking for Lowry2011
As Self
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film2016
As Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
Walter and June1983
As Walter
TMDb 6.7 / 10
The Making of 'The Two Towers'2006
As Self
TMDb 8.8 / 10
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision2003
As Self
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Age of Dissent1994
As Self
Edward II1970
As King Edward
TMDb 4.9 / 10
Edmund the Magnificent2017
As Self - Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Saint of 9/112006
As Narrator
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU2020
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love2001
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 8.0 / 10
My First Time2004
As Narrator
TMDb 2.0 / 10
Hamlet Within2022
Dying Day
Dying Day1980
As Antony Skipling
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare1982
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Paul O'Grady Story2017
As Self
TMDb 8.3 / 10
The Fellowship of the Ring: Scale2002
As Self
For the Love of God
For the Love of God2007
As The Jackdaw
TMDb 4.0 / 10
X-Men2000
As Magneto
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
Untitled Anthony Hopkins DocumentaryRelease date TBA
As Self
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage2016
As Self
TMDb 7.8 / 10
The Egg Trick2013
As Magician
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest1994
As Self
David Macaulay: Roman City1994
As Augustus Caesar (voice)
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Quintessentially British2022
As Self
TMDb 3.8 / 10
Shakespeare on Film
Shakespeare on Film2016
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC2015
As Self (archive footage)
Guerrilla Distribution2007
As Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride2022
As Self
TMDb 8.0 / 10
The Art of Breaking Character
The Art of Breaking Character2007
As Self
Small-Time Revolutionary2010
As Hamish Miller (voice)
TMDb 3.0 / 10
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony2012
As Self
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?2004
TMDb 7.0 / 10
How a Kite Flies2017
As Mr. Kite (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand2006
As Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
TMDb 6.4 / 10
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation2010
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
Play the Devil: Making Richard III2016
Surviving Friendly Fire1997
TMDb 3.0 / 10
No Man's Land
No Man's LandRelease date TBA
As Spooner
Othello1990
As Iago
TMDb 7.3 / 10
X22003
As Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen2016
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved2024
Süleyman the Magnificent1987
As Narrator
The Hobart Shakespeareans2005
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up1993
As Narration (voice)
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Life and Death of Lily Savage2024
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Filmography and biography: TMDb