Ian McKellen's first professional stage appearance was in 1961, and in 1965 he made his film debut, playing a gay character in A Touch of Love with Sandy Dennis. He has been directing plays since the mid-1960s, and has received the prestigious Olivier Award five times. For most of his career he favored stage work over film, which is why his reputation as an actor perhaps exceeds his film résumé. On stage, he has played virtually every important part in all the classics, but not until 1981 did he find his first starring role on film, playing D. H. Lawrence in Priest of Love with Ava Gardner.
[1] Radio interview, BBC Radio 4, 1988. See also Gregg Kilday, "Ian McKellen & Wilson Cruz", The Advocate, 15 August 2000. He is asked if his decision affected his career, and replied, "I think anyone who argues that is just battling the homophobia within themselves. If anything, my career has taken off since I came out. And of over 20 film parts that I've played since then, only three have been gay. I don't think of myself as a queer artist, but I do bring my own gay perception to anything I do."
Father: Denis Murray McKellen (civil engineer, d. 1963, auto crash)
Mother: Margery Lois Sutcliffe (homemaker, d. 1951 breast cancer)
Sister: Jean McKellen (amateur actress, b. 1934, d.)
Mother: Gladys McKellen (stepmother)
Boyfriend: Brian Taylor (school teacher, dated and cohabited 1964-72)
Boyfriend: Sean Mathias (filmmaker, dated and cohabited 1978-88)
Boyfriend: Greg Nickels (New Zealander, met while making Lord of the Rings)
Boyfriend: Nick Cuthell (male model, b. 1977, dated 2002)
High School: Bolton School, Lancashire
University: BA English, St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge
Knight of the British Empire 1990
Risk Factors: Vegetarian
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
All Is True (21-Dec-2018)
Beauty and the Beast (23-Feb-2017)
Mr. Holmes (8-Feb-2015)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (1-Dec-2014)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (10-May-2014)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2-Dec-2013)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (28-Nov-2012)
The Golden Compass (27-Nov-2007) [VOICE]
Stardust (9-Aug-2007) · Narrator [VOICE]
Flushed Away (22-Oct-2006) [VOICE]
X-Men: The Last Stand (22-May-2006)
The Da Vinci Code (17-May-2006)
Doogal (24-Feb-2006) [VOICE]
Neverwas (9-Sep-2005) · Gabriel Finch
Asylum (11-Feb-2005)
Eighteen (5-Dec-2004) [VOICE]
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (1-Dec-2003)
Emile (6-Sep-2003)
X2 (24-Apr-2003) · Eric Lensherr -- Magneto
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (5-Dec-2002) · Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (10-Dec-2001) · Gandalf
X-Men (13-Jul-2000) · Magneto
David Copperfield (25-Dec-1999)
Apt Pupil (16-Sep-1998)
Gods and Monsters (21-Jan-1998) · James Whale
Swept from the Sea (9-Sep-1997)
Bent (May-1997) · Uncle Freddie
Rasputin (23-Mar-1996)
Restoration (29-Dec-1995) · Will Gates
Richard III (20-Aug-1995) · Richard III
Jack and Sarah (2-Jun-1995)
Cold Comfort Farm (1-Jan-1995) · Amos Starkadder
To Die For (2-Dec-1994) [VOICE]
The Shadow (1-Jul-1994) · Reinhardt Lane
I'll Do Anything (4-Feb-1994) · John Earl McAlpine
Six Degrees of Separation (8-Dec-1993) · Geoffrey
And the Band Played On (11-Sep-1993)
The Ballad of Little Jo (20-Aug-1993)
Last Action Hero (18-Jun-1993) · Death
Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (8-May-1993)
Scandal (28-Apr-1989)
Windmills of the Gods (7-Feb-1988)
Plenty (10-Sep-1985)
Zina (1985)
The Keep (16-Dec-1983) · Dr. Theodore Cuza
Walter and June (1983)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (9-Nov-1982)
Priest of Love (11-Oct-1981)
Alfred the Great (14-Jul-1969)
Thank You All Very Much (Jun-1969) · George Matthews
Official Website:
http://www.mckellen.com/
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AKA Ian Murray McKellen