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Ian McKellen


 
General Information (Ian McKellen)
 
Mostly Credited As: Ian McKellen
Sometimes Credited As: Sir Ian McKellen
Birth Name: Ian Murray McKellen
Date Of Birth: May 25, 1939
Country Of Birth: United Kingdom
Birth Place: Burnley, Lancashire, England
Height: 5' 11" (1.8 m)

On May 25th, 1939, in the small town of Burnley in northern England, Ian Murray McKellen was born. His parents, Denis and Margery, soon moved with Ian and his sister Jean to the coal mining town of Wigan. It was in this small town that young Ian would ride out World War II. He soon developed a fascination with acting and the theater, which was encouraged by his parents. They would all bring him to plays, those by William Shakespeare in particular. The amateur school productions fostered Ian's growing passion for theatre. When Ian was of age to begin attending school, he made sure to get roles in all of the productions. At Bolton School in particular, he developed his skills early on. Indeed, his first role in a Shakespearian play was at Bolton, as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Ian soon began attending Stratford-upon-Avon theater festivals, where he saw the greats perform: Olivier, Hiller, Gielgud, Richardson and Robeson. He continued his education in English Drama, but soon it fell by the wayside as he concentrated more and more on performing. He eventually obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1961, and began his career in earnest. McKellen began working in theatre over the next few years. Very few people knew of Ian's homosexuality; he saw no reason to go public, nor had he told his family. They did not seem interested in the subject and so he saw no reason to bring it up. In 1988, Ian publicly came out of the closet on the BBC Radio 4 program, while discussing Margaret Thatcher's "section 28" legislation which would make the "public promotion of homosexuality" a crime. It was reason enough for McKellen to take a stand, and he has been active in the Gay Rights movement ever since.

Ian currently resides in Limehouse, where he lives with his partner of 8 years, Sean Mathias. The two worked together on the film Bent (1997). To this day, McKellen works mostly in theater, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1990 for his efforts in the arts. However, he has managed to make several quite successful forays into film. He has appeared in several productions of Shakespeare's works including his well received Richard III (1995), and in a variety of other movies. However it has only been recently that his star has finally begun to shine in the eyes of North American audiences. Roles in various films: Cold Comfort Farm (1995) (TV), Apt Pupil (1998) and Gods and Monsters (1998), riveted audiences. The latter in particular created a sensation in Hollywood, and McKellen's role garnered him several of awards and nominations,including a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod. McKellen Continues to work extensively on stage... solidifying his role as Laurence Olivier's worthy successor, having recently scored hits in the London productions of Peter Pan and Noel Coward's Present Laughter.

Movie Credits

Magneto (2007) - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
Flushed Away (2006) (voice) - Toad
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Sir Leigh Teabing
Neverwas (2005) - Gabriel Finch
Asylum (2005/I) - Dr. Peter Cleave
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - Gandalf
Emile (2003) - Emile
X-Men: X2 (2003) - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - Gandalf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - Gandalf the Grey
X-Men (2000) - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
Apt Pupil (1998) - Kurt Dussander
Gods and Monsters (1998) - James Whale
Swept from the Sea (1997) - Dr. James Kennedy
Bent (1997) - Uncle Freddie
Restoration (1995) - Will Gates
Richard III (1995) - Richard III
Jack and Sarah (1995) - William
The Shadow (1994) - Dr. Reinhardt Lane
I'll Do Anything (1994) - John Earl McAlpine
Six Degrees of Separation (1993) - Geoffrey Miller
And the Band Played On (1993) (TV) - Bill Kraus
The Ballad of Little Jo (1993) - Percy Corcoran
Last Action Hero (1993) - Death

...and many, many more.

 
 
Ian McKellen TV Appearances
 
Main cast 
Show: Churchill(2003)As: Narrator -- [Voice]
Episode Cast Credits 
Show: Parkinson (2004) (2004) 
  Lewis Hamilton, Sir Ian McKellen, James Blunt 07x08: (Nov/10/2007) As Himself 
Show: Attack Of The Show! (2005) 
  Ian McKellen, The Colour 02x89: (May/18/2006) As Himself 
Show: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001) 
  Uma Thurman, Ian McKellen, Graham Coxon, Russell Brand 10x07: (May/12/2006) As Himself 
  Victoria Beckham, Ian McKellen, Johnny Vegas, Gary Jules, Michael Andrews, The Raveonettes 05x14: (Dec/19/2003) As Himself 
Show: Jimmy Kimmel Live (2003) 
  Sir Ian McKellen, Jared Leto, Franz Ferdinand 04x70: (May/02/2006) As Himself 
Show: Real Time With Bill Maher (2003) 
  Episode 410 04x10: (Apr/28/2006) As Himself 
  Episode 17 01x17: (Sep/05/2003) As Himself 
Show: The Paul O'Grady Show (2004) 
  Series 3, Show 70 03x70: (Dec/16/2005) As Himself 
Show: Coronation Street (1960) 
• 10 episode credits -- (First Appearance: Sunday May 01st, 2005)
  Sun 22 May, 2005 46x105: (May/22/2005) As Mel Hutchwright 
  Fri 20 May, 2005 46x104: (May/20/2005) As Mel Hutchwright 
  Wed 18 May, 2005 46x103: (May/18/2005) As Mel Hutchwright 
  Mon 16 May, 2005 [Episode 2] 46x102: (May/16/2005) As Mel Hutchwright 
Show: The Academy Awards (1929) 
  The 76th Annual Academy Awards 76x01: (Feb/29/2004) As Presenter 
  The 74th Annual Academy Awards 74x01: (Mar/24/2002) As Nominee-Supporting Actor/Presenter 
  The 71th Annual Academy Awards 71x01: (Mar/21/1999) As Nominee-Actor 
Show: Parkinson (1998) (1998) 
  Ian McKellen, Johnny Vegas, Rhona Cameron, Katie Melua, Alicia Keys 11x01: (Feb/21/2004) As Himself 
  Jerome Flynn, Gloria Gaynor, Ian McKellen, Paul Merton 09x06: (Apr/12/2003) As Himself 
  Joanna Lumley, Neil Morrissey, Ian McKellen 02x11: (Mar/26/1999) As Himself 
Show: Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) 
  Ian McKellen, Petra Nemcova, The Stills 11x53: (Dec/26/2003) As Himself 
Show: The View (1997) 
  McKellan/Welling 07x79: (Dec/22/2003) As Himself 
  Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ian McKellen 05x41: (Mar/12/2002) As Himself 
Show: The Simpsons (1989) 
  The Regina Monologues 15x04: (Nov/23/2003) Voiced Himself 
Show: Have I Got News for You (1990) 
  Jimmy Carr, Ross Noble, Ian McKellen 26x04: (Nov/07/2003) As Himself 
Show: Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2002) 
  Series 2, Show 8 02x08: (Mar/01/2003) As Himself 
Show: Inside the Actors Studio (1994) 
  Sir Ian McKellen 09x05: (Dec/08/2002) As Himself 
Show: Saturday Night Live (1975) 
  Ian McKellen/Kylie Minogue 27x15: (Mar/16/2002) As Himself (Host) 
Show: Play of the Month (1965) 
  The Recruiting Officer 09x03: (Oct/18/1973) As Captain Plume 
Show: Mystery! (1980) 
  Dying Day 03x02: (Unknown/Unaired) As Anthony Skipling 
 
Ian McKellen Crew Credits
 
No TV Crew Credits
 
Ian McKellen Trivia
 
Ian is a vegetarian.
 
Sir Ian has honours from Nottingham, Leeds, Oxford and Aberdeen Universities.
 
Ian was elected to Council of British Actors' Equity (1971).
 
Ian was the president of the Marlowe Society (1960-61).
 
In 2005, Ian fulfilled his lifelong ambition of playing 'King Lear,' arguably Shakespeare's greatest role, on the London stage.
 
Ian played 'Widow Twanky' in Kevin Spacey's production of the traditional pantomime Aladdin at the London Old Vic Theatre (Christmas 2004).
 
Ian is the only performer to receive an acting Academy Award nomination for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
 
Ian is said to have turned down the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.
 
Ian won Broadway's 1981 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for originating the role of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He was nominated in the same category in 1984 for "Ian McKellen Acting Shakespeare."
 
Ian has played characters in two of the biggest cult franchises: he played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men series.
 
More Trivia
 
Ian McKellen Quotes
 
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This person is currently edited by Aramis
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