Ian McKellen

Sir
Ian McKellen
CH CBE
McKellen in 2013
Born
Ian Murray McKellen

(1939-05-25) 25 May 1939 (age 85)[1]
Burnley, Lancashire, England
EducationSt Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active1958–present
WorksFull list
Partners
AwardsFull list
Websitemckellen.com

Sir Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. With a career spanning more than sixty years, he is noted for his 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.[2][3] 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 went on to receive 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.[4]

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, 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), 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.[5] McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots.[6] He is also patron of LGBT History Month,[7] Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG.[8]

  1. ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1208. 25 May 2012. p. 21.
  2. ^ "British Actor Ian Mckellen in China for Shakespeare on Film". British Council. 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Thirty of the very best of British". The Telegraph. 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart head to Broadway together in two shows". Entertainment Weekly. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Ian McKellen receives Freedom of the City award for gay rights activism". The Independent. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference albert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Aim High". the Lesbian & Gay Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2009.