Ian McKellen
Encyclopedia
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH
, CBE
(born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award
, two Academy Award
nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean
and modern theatre to popular fantasy
and science fiction
. He is known to many for roles such as Gandalf
in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code
, and as Magneto
in the X-Men films
.
In 1988, McKellen announced publicly that he was gay. He became a founding member of Stonewall
, one of the United Kingdom's most influential LGBT rights groups, of which he remains a prominent spokesman. McKellen was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts.
, Lancashire
, England, though he spent most of his early life in Wigan
. Born shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the experience had some lasting impact on him. In response to an interview question when an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, he said: "Well, darling, you forget — I slept under a steel plate until I was four years old."
McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer
, was a lay
preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers. At the time of Ian's birth, his parents already had a five-year-old daughter, Jean. His home environment was strongly Christian
, but non-orthodox. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met." When he was 12, his mother, Margery Lois (née Sutcliffe), died; his father died when he was 24. When he came out of the closet to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a member of the Religious Society of Friends
: "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying anymore."
McKellen attended Bolton School
(boys division), of which he is still a supporter, attending regularly to talk to pupils. McKellen's acting career started at Bolton Little Theatre
, of which he is now the patron. An early fascination with the theatre was encouraged by his parents, who took him on a family outing to Peter Pan
at the Manchester Opera House
when he was three. When he was nine, his main Christmas present was a wood and bakelite, fold-away Victorian Theatre from Pollocks Toy Theatres
, with cardboard scenery and wires to push on the cut-outs of Cinderella and of Laurence Olivier
's Hamlet. His sister took him to his first Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night
, by the amateurs of Wigan's Little Theatre, shortly followed by their Macbeth
and Wigan High School for Girls' production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
with music by Mendelssohn and with the role of Bottom played by Jean McKellen. (Jean continued to act, direct, and produce amateur theatre up to her death.)
He won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge
, when he was eighteen, where he developed an attraction to Derek Jacobi
. He has characterised it as "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited".
, appearing in Henry IV
(as Shallow) alongside Trevor Nunn
and Jacobi (March 1959), Cymbeline
(as Posthumus, opposite Margaret Drabble as Imogen) and Doctor Faustus
. His first professional appearance was in 1961 at the Nottingham Playhouse
, as Roper in A Man for All Seasons
, although an audio recording of the Marlowe Society's Cymbeline had gone on commercial sale as part of the Argo
Shakespeare series. After four years in regional repertory theatres
he made his first West End
appearance, in A Scent of Flowers, regarded as a "notable success". In 1965 he was a member of Laurence Olivier
's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic
, which led to rôles at the Chichester Festival
. In the 1970s and 1980s McKellen became a well-known figure in British theatre, performing frequently at the Royal Shakespeare Company
and the Royal National Theatre
, where he played several leading Shakespearean roles, including the titular part in Macbeth
(which he had first assayed for Trevor Nunn in a "gripping...out of the ordinary" production, with Judi Dench
, at Stratford in 1976), and Iago
in Othello
, in award-winning productions directed by Nunn. Both of these productions were adapted into television films, also directed by Nunn.
In 2007 he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company
, in productions of King Lear
and The Seagull
, both directed by Trevor Nunn. In 2009 he appeared in a very popular revival of Waiting for Godot
at London's Haymarket Theatre
, directed by Sean Mathias and playing opposite Patrick Stewart
.
McKellen is also President and Patron of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
, an association of amateur theatre organisations throughout the UK.
In 1993, McKellen had a supporting role as a South African tycoon in the critically acclaimed Six Degrees of Separation
, in which he starred with Stockard Channing
, Donald Sutherland
, and Will Smith
. In the same year, he appeared in minor roles in the television miniseries
Tales of the City (based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin
) and the film Last Action Hero
, in which he played Death
. The same year, McKellen appeared in the television film And the Band Played On
, about the discovery of the AIDS
virus, for which McKellen won a CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries and was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
In 1995, he played the title role in the critical hit Richard III
, which transported the setting into an alternative 1930s wherein England is ruled by Fascists. McKellen co-produced and co-wrote the film, adapting the play for the screen based on a stage production of Shakespeare's play directed by Richard Eyre
for the Royal National Theatre
, in which McKellen had appeared. In McKellen's role as executive producer he returned his £50,000 fee in order to complete the filming of the final battle. In his review of the film, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post
, called McKellen's performance a "lethally flamboyant incarnation" and said his "florid mastery ... dominates everything". His performance in the title role garnered best actor nominations for the BAFTA Award
and Golden Globe, and won the European Film Award for Best Actor. His screenplay was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
.
His breakthrough role among mainstream American audiences came with the modestly acclaimed Apt Pupil
, based on a story by Stephen King
. McKellen portrayed an old Nazi officer, living under a false name
in the U.S., who was befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro
) who threatened to expose him unless he told his story in detail. His casting was based partly on his performance in Cold Comfort Farm, seen by Apt Pupil director Bryan Singer
, despite the BBC
's refusal to release it in cinemas. He was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
for his role in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters
, wherein he played James Whale
, the director of Show Boat
(1936) and Frankenstein
.
He reteamed with Bryan Singer to play the comic book character Magneto
in X-Men
and its sequels X2: X-Men United
and X-Men: The Last Stand
. It was while filming X-Men that he was cast as the wizard
Gandalf
in Peter Jackson
's three-film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
(consisting of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King
). McKellen received honors from the Screen Actors Guild
for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in The Fellowship of the Ring and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for the same role. He also voiced Gandalf in the video game adaptions of the film trilogy as well as in The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
. On January 10, 2011 it was officially confirmed that Mckellen would reprise the role of Gandalf in the film adaptation of The Hobbit.
On 16 March 2002, he was the host on Saturday Night Live
. In 2003, McKellen made a guest appearance as himself on the American cartoon show The Simpsons
, in a special British-themed episode entitled "The Regina Monologues
", along with Tony Blair
and J. K. Rowling
. In April and May 2005, he played the role of Mel Hutchwright in Granada Television
's long running soap opera, Coronation Street
, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. He is also known for his voicework, having narrated Richard Bell
's film Eighteen, as a grandfather who leaves his World War II memoirs on audiocassette for his teenage grandson.
McKellen has appeared in limited release films, such as Emile
(which was shot in a few days during the X2 shoot), Neverwas
and Asylum. He appeared as Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code
. During a 17 May 2006 interview on The Today Show with the Da Vinci Code cast and director, Matt Lauer
posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible
should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes... an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie — not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story." He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it". McKellen appeared in the 2006 series of Ricky Gervais
' comedy series Extras
, where he played himself directing Gervais' character Andy Millman in a play about gay lovers. McKellen received a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series
nomination for his performance. He also appeared in the 2009 remake of the 1967 The Prisoner, where he played the character Number Two.
, began their relationship in 1964. It lasted for eight years, ending in 1972. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. For over a decade, he has lived in a five-story Victorian conversion in Narrow Street
, Limehouse
. In 1978 he met his second partner, Sean Mathias
, at the Edinburgh Festival
. This relationship lasted until 1988. According to Mathias, the ten-year love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career. Mathias and McKellen remained friends, and Mathias directed McKellen in Waiting For Godot
at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2009. The pair have entered into business partnership with Evgeny Lebedev
purchasing the lease on The Grapes
public house in Narrow Street, close to McKellen's home.
A friend of Ian Charleson
and a great admirer of his work, McKellen contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute.
In the late 1980s, McKellen lost his appetite for meat except for fish, and so mostly excludes it from his diet.
While McKellen had made his sexual orientation
known to his fellow actors early on in his stage career, it was not until 1988 that he came out
to the general public, in a programme on BBC Radio 3
. The context that prompted McKellen's decision — overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career — was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill, simply known as Section 28
was under consideration in the British Parliament
. McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay
author Armistead Maupin
.
In 2003, during an appearance on Have I Got News For You
, McKellen claimed that when he visited Michael Howard
, then Environment Secretary
(responsible for local government
), in 1988 to lobby against Section 28
, Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote "Fuck off, I'm gay." McKellen also described Howard's junior ministers, the Conservatives David Wilshire
and Dame Jill Knight, who were the architects of Section 28, as the 'ugly sisters' of a political pantomime.
Section 28, which proposed to prohibit local authorities from "promoting homosexuality
" 'as a kind of pretended family relationship', was ambiguous and the actual impact of the amendment was uncertain. McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and declared himself gay on a BBC Radio
programme where he debated the subject of Section 28 with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne
. He has said of this period: "My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight". Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003.
McKellen has continued to be very active in LGBT rights efforts. In a statement on his website regarding his activism, the actor commented that:
McKellen is a co-founder of Stonewall
, a LGB rights lobby
group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots
. McKellen is also Patron of LGBT History Month
, Pride London
, GAY-GLOS and The Lesbian & Gay Foundation
. and FFLAG where he appears in their video Parents Talking.
In 1994, at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games
, he briefly took the stage to address the crowd, saying, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena" (This nickname, originally given to him by Stephen Fry
, had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred). In 2002, he attended the Academy Awards with his then-boyfriend, New Zealander Nick Cuthell — possibly a first for a major nominee since Nigel Hawthorne
, the first openly gay performer to be nominated for an Academy Award, who attended the ceremonies with his partner, Trevor Bentham
, in 1995.
In 2006, McKellen spoke at the pre-launch of the 2007 LGBT History Month in the UK, lending his support to the organisation and its founder, Sue Sanders
. In 2007 McKellen became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust
, an organisation that provides support to young, homeless and troubled LGBT people.
In 2006, McKellen became a Patron of Oxford Pride
. At the time he said:
McKellen has taken his activism internationally, where it caused a major stir in Singapore
. Invited to do an interview on a morning show, he shocked the interviewer by asking if they could recommend him a gay bar
. The program immediately ended. In December 2008, he was named in Out
's annual Out 100 list.
In May 2011, McKellen called Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow
, a "coward" when he refused to allow gay parades in the city.
, appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support Age UK, the charity recently formed from the merger of Age Concern
and Help the Aged
. All three actors gave their time free of charge.
, reminding patrons to ensure their mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off, and to keep coughing to a minimum.
(CBE) in 1979, and knighted
in 1991 New Year Honours
for his outstanding work and contributions to theatre. In the 2008 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of Honour
(CH) for services to drama and to equality.
by Lancaster University
. He was praised for his diversity of roles, his "deeply considered dramatic technique" and his Lancastrian roots.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, two Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and modern theatre to popular fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. He is known to many for roles such as Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
, and as Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
in the X-Men films
X-Men (film series)
The X-Men film series consists of superhero films based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The films star an ensemble cast, focusing on Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who is drawn into the conflict between Professor Xavier and Magneto , who have opposing views on humanity's...
.
In 1988, McKellen announced publicly that he was gay. He became a founding member of Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
, one of the United Kingdom's most influential LGBT rights groups, of which he remains a prominent spokesman. McKellen was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts.
Early life
McKellen was born in BurnleyBurnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, though he spent most of his early life in Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. Born shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the experience had some lasting impact on him. In response to an interview question when an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, he said: "Well, darling, you forget — I slept under a steel plate until I was four years old."
McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, was a lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers. At the time of Ian's birth, his parents already had a five-year-old daughter, Jean. His home environment was strongly Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, but non-orthodox. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met." When he was 12, his mother, Margery Lois (née Sutcliffe), died; his father died when he was 24. When he came out of the closet to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a member of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
: "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying anymore."
McKellen attended Bolton School
Bolton School
Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, in the North-West of England. It comprises a co-educational Nursery and Infant School and single sex Junior and Senior Schools . With almost 2,400 pupils it is one of the largest independent day schools in the country.-History:Bolton School...
(boys division), of which he is still a supporter, attending regularly to talk to pupils. McKellen's acting career started at Bolton Little Theatre
Bolton Little Theatre
Bolton Little Theatre is a registered charity located at Hanover Street, Bolton BL1 4TG and has a small car park available. It was established in 1931. The theatre is a Member of The Bolton Amateur Theatre Societies, The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, which it joined in 1947 and The...
, of which he is now the patron. An early fascination with the theatre was encouraged by his parents, who took him on a family outing to Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
at the Manchester Opera House
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth...
when he was three. When he was nine, his main Christmas present was a wood and bakelite, fold-away Victorian Theatre from Pollocks Toy Theatres
Pollock's Toy Museum
Pollock's Toy Museum is a small museum in London, England.It was started in 1956 in a single attic room at 44 Monmouth Street, near Covent Garden, where Pollock's Toy Theatres were also sold. As the enterprise flourished, other rooms were taken over for the museum and the ground floor became a...
, with cardboard scenery and wires to push on the cut-outs of Cinderella and of Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's Hamlet. His sister took him to his first Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
Twelfth Night; or, What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season...
, by the amateurs of Wigan's Little Theatre, shortly followed by their Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Wigan High School for Girls' production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
with music by Mendelssohn and with the role of Bottom played by Jean McKellen. (Jean continued to act, direct, and produce amateur theatre up to her death.)
He won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, when he was eighteen, where he developed an attraction to Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
. He has characterised it as "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited".
Theatre
While at Cambridge McKellen was a member of the Marlowe SocietyMarlowe Society
The Marlowe Society is a Cambridge University theatre club for Cambridge students. It is dedicated to achieving a high standard of student drama in Cambridge...
, appearing in Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
(as Shallow) alongside Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
and Jacobi (March 1959), Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
(as Posthumus, opposite Margaret Drabble as Imogen) and Doctor Faustus
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge...
. His first professional appearance was in 1961 at the Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
, as Roper in A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
, although an audio recording of the Marlowe Society's Cymbeline had gone on commercial sale as part of the Argo
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
Shakespeare series. After four years in regional repertory theatres
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
he made his first West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
appearance, in A Scent of Flowers, regarded as a "notable success". In 1965 he was a member of Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, which led to rôles at the Chichester Festival
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
. In the 1970s and 1980s McKellen became a well-known figure in British theatre, performing frequently at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, where he played several leading Shakespearean roles, including the titular part in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(which he had first assayed for Trevor Nunn in a "gripping...out of the ordinary" production, with Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, at Stratford in 1976), and Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, in award-winning productions directed by Nunn. Both of these productions were adapted into television films, also directed by Nunn.
In 2007 he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, in productions of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
and The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
, both directed by Trevor Nunn. In 2009 he appeared in a very popular revival of Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
at London's Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
, directed by Sean Mathias and playing opposite Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
.
McKellen is also President and Patron of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain is an Umbrella organisation promoting and supporting independent amateur theatre companies which have control over their own premises and produce drama of a high quality for the benefit of their communities...
, an association of amateur theatre organisations throughout the UK.
Popular success
McKellen had taken film roles throughout his career — beginning in 1969 with his role of George Matthews in A Touch of Love, but it was not until the 1990s that he became more widely recognised in this medium, through several roles in blockbuster Hollywood films.In 1993, McKellen had a supporting role as a South African tycoon in the critically acclaimed Six Degrees of Separation
Six Degrees of Separation (film)
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing...
, in which he starred with Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
, Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
, and Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
. In the same year, he appeared in minor roles in the television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Tales of the City (based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
) and the film Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
, in which he played Death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
. The same year, McKellen appeared in the television film And the Band Played On
And the Band Played On (film)
And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.The film premiered at the Montreal...
, about the discovery of the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
virus, for which McKellen won a CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries and was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
In 1995, he played the title role in the critical hit Richard III
Richard III (1995 film)
Richard III is a 1995 drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West....
, which transported the setting into an alternative 1930s wherein England is ruled by Fascists. McKellen co-produced and co-wrote the film, adapting the play for the screen based on a stage production of Shakespeare's play directed by Richard Eyre
Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
for the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, in which McKellen had appeared. In McKellen's role as executive producer he returned his £50,000 fee in order to complete the filming of the final battle. In his review of the film, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, called McKellen's performance a "lethally flamboyant incarnation" and said his "florid mastery ... dominates everything". His performance in the title role garnered best actor nominations for the BAFTA Award
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...
and Golden Globe, and won the European Film Award for Best Actor. His screenplay was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968:-1980s:1983: Heat and Dust – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala*Betrayal – Harold Pinter...
.
His breakthrough role among mainstream American audiences came with the modestly acclaimed Apt Pupil
Apt Pupil (film)
Apt Pupil is a 1998 American psychological thriller film based on the eponymous 1982 novella by Stephen King. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro...
, based on a story by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. McKellen portrayed an old Nazi officer, living under a false name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
in the U.S., who was befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro
Brad Renfro
Brad Barron Renfro was an American actor. He made his film debut in 1994 at age 12 in the lead role of Joel Schumacher's The Client, going on to star in 21 feature films, several short films, and two television episodes during his career. Much of his later career was marred by a pattern of...
) who threatened to expose him unless he told his story in detail. His casting was based partly on his performance in Cold Comfort Farm, seen by Apt Pupil director Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
, despite the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's refusal to release it in cinemas. He was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his role in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes...
, wherein he played James Whale
James Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
, the director of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1936) and Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
.
He reteamed with Bryan Singer to play the comic book character Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
in X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...
and its sequels X2: X-Men United
X2 (film)
X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
and X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
. It was while filming X-Men that he was cast as the wizard
Wizard (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. They are also called the Istari by the Elves. The Sindarin word is Ithryn...
Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's three-film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
(consisting of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
). McKellen received honors from the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in The Fellowship of the Ring and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for the same role. He also voiced Gandalf in the video game adaptions of the film trilogy as well as in The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a role-playing game by EA Games for all three of the late sixth-generation game consoles. The player controls a core group of characters that are used during the adventure, levelling up according to experience gained from battles and quests.-Plot:The plot of...
. On January 10, 2011 it was officially confirmed that Mckellen would reprise the role of Gandalf in the film adaptation of The Hobbit.
On 16 March 2002, he was the host on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. In 2003, McKellen made a guest appearance as himself on the American cartoon show The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, in a special British-themed episode entitled "The Regina Monologues
The Regina Monologues
"The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, and originally aired November 23, 2003 in the United States. It was written by John Swartzwelder, and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode sees the Simpson family travel to the United Kingdom on holiday. There, they...
", along with Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
. In April and May 2005, he played the role of Mel Hutchwright in Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's long running soap opera, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. He is also known for his voicework, having narrated Richard Bell
Richard Bell (director)
Richard Bell is the writer and director of the short feature Two Brothers and the feature Eighteen. The latter starred Brendan Fletcher, Carly Pope, Mark Hildreth, Thea Gill, and Alan Cumming. The film was narrated by Ian McKellen, with music composed by Bramwell Tovey and performed by the...
's film Eighteen, as a grandfather who leaves his World War II memoirs on audiocassette for his teenage grandson.
McKellen has appeared in limited release films, such as Emile
Emile (film)
Emile is a Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai but not released widely until 2004. The cast included Ian McKellen and Deborah Kara Unger...
(which was shot in a few days during the X2 shoot), Neverwas
Neverwas
Neverwas is a 2005 English film written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, starring Ian McKellen, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy and Nick Nolte.It was first shown at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival...
and Asylum. He appeared as Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
. During a 17 May 2006 interview on The Today Show with the Da Vinci Code cast and director, Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes... an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie — not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story." He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it". McKellen appeared in the 2006 series of Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
' comedy series Extras
Extras (TV series)
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it...
, where he played himself directing Gervais' character Andy Millman in a play about gay lovers. McKellen received a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.-1980s:Outstanding Guest Performer In A Comedy Series*1986: Roscoe Lee Browne – The Cosby Show as Dr...
nomination for his performance. He also appeared in the 2009 remake of the 1967 The Prisoner, where he played the character Number Two.
Personal life
McKellen and his first serious partner, Brian Taylor, a history teacher from BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, began their relationship in 1964. It lasted for eight years, ending in 1972. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. For over a decade, he has lived in a five-story Victorian conversion in Narrow Street
Narrow Street
Narrow Street is a narrow street running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London.- History :A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharf being completed in 1348...
, Limehouse
Limehouse
Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
. In 1978 he met his second partner, Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
, at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
. This relationship lasted until 1988. According to Mathias, the ten-year love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career. Mathias and McKellen remained friends, and Mathias directed McKellen in Waiting For Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2009. The pair have entered into business partnership with Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev is the chairman of both Evening Standard Ltd, which owns the Evening Standard and also Independent Print Ltd which owns the Independent newspapers, which he bought in January 2009 and March 2010...
purchasing the lease on The Grapes
The Grapes
The Grapes is a public house backing onto the Thames waterfront, located at 76 Narrow Street, London E14 8BP . It is owned in partnership by Evgeny Lebedev, Sean Mathias and Ian McKellen, and managed by Paul Mathias.- History :...
public house in Narrow Street, close to McKellen's home.
A friend of Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev...
and a great admirer of his work, McKellen contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute.
In the late 1980s, McKellen lost his appetite for meat except for fish, and so mostly excludes it from his diet.
LGBT rights campaigning
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
known to his fellow actors early on in his stage career, it was not until 1988 that he came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to the general public, in a programme on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
. The context that prompted McKellen's decision — overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career — was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill, simply known as Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
was under consideration in the British Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
author Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
.
In 2003, during an appearance on Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, McKellen claimed that when he visited Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, then Environment Secretary
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
(responsible for local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
), in 1988 to lobby against Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
, Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote "Fuck off, I'm gay." McKellen also described Howard's junior ministers, the Conservatives David Wilshire
David Wilshire
David Wilshire is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament for Spelthorne in Surrey from 1987 to 2010....
and Dame Jill Knight, who were the architects of Section 28, as the 'ugly sisters' of a political pantomime.
Section 28, which proposed to prohibit local authorities from "promoting homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
" 'as a kind of pretended family relationship', was ambiguous and the actual impact of the amendment was uncertain. McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and declared himself gay on a BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
programme where he debated the subject of Section 28 with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne
Peregrine Worsthorne
Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at Stowe School, Peterhouse, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford. Worsthorne spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph...
. He has said of this period: "My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight". Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003.
McKellen has continued to be very active in LGBT rights efforts. In a statement on his website regarding his activism, the actor commented that:
McKellen is a co-founder of Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
, a LGB rights lobby
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
. McKellen is also Patron of LGBT History Month
LGBT History Month
LGBT History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11...
, Pride London
Pride London
Pride London is the name of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London, most notably the annual gay pride parade which is held in June/July. The most recent Pride London was on 2 July 2011. The 2010 event was attended by 1 million people,...
, GAY-GLOS and The Lesbian & Gay Foundation
The Lesbian & Gay Foundation
The Lesbian and Gay Foundation is a charity based in Manchester. It was formed with the merger of Healthy Gay Manchester and Manchester Lesbian and Gay Switchboard Services in April 2000....
. and FFLAG where he appears in their video Parents Talking.
In 1994, at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games
Gay Games
The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level...
, he briefly took the stage to address the crowd, saying, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena" (This nickname, originally given to him by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred). In 2002, he attended the Academy Awards with his then-boyfriend, New Zealander Nick Cuthell — possibly a first for a major nominee since Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
, the first openly gay performer to be nominated for an Academy Award, who attended the ceremonies with his partner, Trevor Bentham
Trevor Bentham
Trevor Bentham is an English former stage manager and screenwriter. He is a screenwriter of works including A Month by the Lake and The Clandestine Marriage ....
, in 1995.
In 2006, McKellen spoke at the pre-launch of the 2007 LGBT History Month in the UK, lending his support to the organisation and its founder, Sue Sanders
Sue Sanders
Sue Sanders is, as an "out and proud" lesbian, a British LGBT rights activist who has specialized in challenging oppression in the public and voluntary sectors for over thirty years....
. In 2007 McKellen became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust
The Albert Kennedy Trust
The Albert Kennedy Trust is a voluntary organisation based in England, created in 1989 to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual young people who are homeless, living in a hostile environment or in housing crisis...
, an organisation that provides support to young, homeless and troubled LGBT people.
In 2006, McKellen became a Patron of Oxford Pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
. At the time he said:
McKellen has taken his activism internationally, where it caused a major stir in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Invited to do an interview on a morning show, he shocked the interviewer by asking if they could recommend him a gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
. The program immediately ended. In December 2008, he was named in Out
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
's annual Out 100 list.
In May 2011, McKellen called Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, a "coward" when he refused to allow gay parades in the city.
Charity work
In April 2010, along with Brian Cox and Eleanor BronEleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron is an English stage, film and television actress and author.-Early life and family:Bron was born in 1938 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin...
, appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support Age UK, the charity recently formed from the merger of Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
and Help the Aged
Help the Aged
Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based, international charity, founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole, to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to form Age UK.-Organisation and campaigns:...
. All three actors gave their time free of charge.
Stage
- Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Old VicOld VicThe Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, London, 1965 - Trelawny of the 'Wells'Trelawny of the 'Wells'Trelawny of the 'Wells' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society.-Synopsis:...
, National Theatre, London & Chichester FestivalChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, 1965 - The Promise, West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
; BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, 1967 - Edward IIEdward II (play)Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
(in title role), Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
& West End, 1969 - HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(title role), UK/European Tour, 1971 - 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, UK Tour, 1972
- Dr FaustusThe Tragical History of Doctor FaustusThe Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge...
(title role), Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, Edinburgh Festival & Aldwych Theatre (London), 1974 - King John, RSC, 1975
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(as Romeo), RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & London, 1976 - The Winter's TaleThe Winter's TaleThe Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1976 - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(title role), RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & Young Vic (London), 1976–1977 - The AlchemistThe Alchemist (play)The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature...
, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & London, 1977 - Every Good Boy Deserves FavourEvery Good Boy Deserves FavourEvery Good Boy Deserves Favour is a stage play by Tom Stoppard with music by André Previn. It was first performed in 1977. The play criticizes the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness. Its title derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to...
, RSC, Barbican Arts Centre (London), 1977 - Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
, RSC, UK Tour, 1978 - BentBent (play)Bent is a 1979 play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives....
, (as Max) Royal Court and Criterion, London, 1979 - AmadeusAmadeusAmadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
(as Salieri), Broadway, 1980 - CoriolanusCoriolanus (play)Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus.-Characters:*Caius Martius, later surnamed Coriolanus...
(title role), National Theatre, 1984 - Wild HoneyWild Honey (play)Wild Honey is a 1984 adaptation by British playwright Michael Frayn of an earlier play by Anton Chekhov. The original work, a sprawling five-hour drama from Chekhov's earliest years as a writer, has no title but it is usually known in English as Platonov, from its principal character "Mikhail...
, National Theatre, 1984 (& Broadway, 1986) - The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
(as Lopakhin), National Theatre, 1985 - The Duchess of MalfiThe Duchess of MalfiThe Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
, National Theatre, 1985 - The Real Inspector HoundThe Real Inspector HoundThe Real Inspector Hound is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit...
, National Theatre, London & Paris, 1985 - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(as Iago), RSC, London & Stratford-upon-Avon, 1989 - Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
(title role), National Theatre, world tour, 1990 & US tour, 1992 - Uncle VanyaUncle VanyaUncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
(title role), National Theatre, 1992 - Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
(as Mr. Darling/Captain Hook), National Theatre, 1997 - An Enemy of the PeopleAn Enemy of the PeopleAn Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which at that time was considered scandalous...
, National Theatre, 1997 & Ahmanson TheatreAhmanson TheatreThe Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
(Los Angeles), 1998 - Present LaughterPresent LaughterPresent Laughter is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 and first staged in 1942 on tour, alternating with his lower middle-class domestic drama This Happy Breed...
, West Yorkshire PlayhouseWest Yorkshire PlayhouseThe West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
(Leeds, England), 1998 - Dance of DeathThe Dance of Death (play)The Dance of Death is a play in two parts written by August Strindberg in 1900.-Plot:In Part I, Edgar and his wife Alice live in a granite fortress on a desolate island. Bored and embittered, they torment each other with petty intrigues and well-worn accusations...
, at the Broadhurst TheatreBroadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
(New York) in 2001. At the Lyric TheatreLyric Theatre (London)The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
(London, England) in 2003 - Aladdin, (as Widow TwankieWidow TwankeyWidow Twankey is a female character in the pantomime Aladdin. The character is a pantomime dame, portrayed by a man; and is a comic foil to the principal boy, Aladdin – played by an actress.-History:...
) Old Vic, 2004 & 2005 - The CutThe Cut (play)The Cut is a 2006 theatre play by Mark Ravenhill. It is a dystopia that relates the life of Paul, a practitioner of a mysterious operation who is greatly disturbed by its practice...
, Donmar Warehouse, 2006 - King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, (as Lear), Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2007; New Zealand, 2007; New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music), 2007, Minneapolis, 2007, New London TheatreNew London TheatreThe New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
(West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
), 2007–8 - The SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
by Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, (as Sorin), Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2007; New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music), 2007 Minneapolis, 2007, New London TheatreNew London TheatreThe New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
(West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
), 2007–8 - Waiting for GodotWaiting for GodotWaiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
by Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, (as Estragon), Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, 2009 and 2010; Comedy Theatre, MelbourneComedy Theatre, MelbourneThe Comedy Theatre is a 997 seat theatre in Melbourne. It was built in 1928, and was built in the Spanish style, with a Florentine-style exterior and wrought-iron balconies. It is located at 240 Exhibition Street, and diagonally opposite Her Majesty's Theatre, it is a part of the Marriner Theatre...
, Australia, 2010 and Fugard Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010 - The Syndicate by Eduardo de FilippoEduardo De FilippoEduardo De Filippo was an Italian actor, playwright, screenwriter, author and poet, best known for his Neapolitan works Filumena Marturano and Napoli Milionaria.-Biography:...
, Chichester Festival, 2011
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | David Copperfield | David Copperfield David Copperfield (character) David Copperfield is the character after which the 1850 Charles Dickens novel, David Copperfield, was named. The character is widely thought to be based on Dickens himself, using many elements of his own childhood.-Origin:... |
(TV) |
| 1969 | The Promise The Promise (1969 film) The Promise is a British drama film based on the play by Russian playwright Aleksei Arbuzov. Set in Russia during WW2 it is the story of a love triangle involving three young people caught up in the Siege of Leningrad... |
Leonidik | |
| Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (film) Alfred the Great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed Alfred the Great's struggle to rid Wessex of the invading Danes, in the 870s AD. It starred David Hemmings in the title role.-Plot:... |
Roger | ||
| A Touch of Love A Touch of Love (1969 film) A Touch of Love is a 1969 British drama film directed by Waris Hussein, adapted by Margaret Drabble from her novel The Millstone . It was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:... |
George Matthews | ||
| 1981 | Priest of Love Priest of Love Priest of Love is a 1981 British biographical film about D. H. Lawrence, released by Filmways Pictures. It was produced and directed by Christopher Miles and co-produced by Andrew Donally. The screenplay was by Alan Plater from the biography A Priest of Love by Harry T. Moore... |
Lawrence | |
| Pillar of Fire Pillar of Fire (documentary) Pillar of Fire is a mini series documentary of the Israel Broadcasting Authority , named after the Pillar of Fire, the biblical phenomena which led the ancient Israelites to the Promised Land during their exodus from Egypt... |
Narrator | Documentary Documentary film Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record... |
|
| 1982 | The Scarlet Pimpernel The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982 film) The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1982 film set during the French Revolution. It is based on the novels The Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, and stars Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel, the protagonist, Jane Seymour as Marguerite St... |
Paul Chauvelin Citizen Chauvelin Citizen Armand Chauvelin is the villain in Baroness Emmuska Orczy's classic novel The Scarlet Pimpernel and the various plays and movies derived from the work.... |
|
| Walter | Walter | Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world... |
|
| 1983 | The Keep The Keep (film) The Keep is a 1983 horror film directed by Michael Mann and starring Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Alberta Watson and Ian McKellen. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The story is based on the F... |
Dr. Theodore Cuza | |
| 1985 | Plenty Plenty (film) Plenty is a 1985 British drama film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Meryl Streep . It was adapted from David Hare's play of the same name.-Plot:... |
Sir Andrew Charleson | |
| Zina Zina (film) Zina is an award-winning film by director Ken McMullen. It tells a story of a twentieth century Antigone, Zinaida Volkova , daughter of Leon Trotsky. In 1930s Berlin, Zina is being treated by the adlerian psychotherapist Professor Arthur Kronfeld... |
Arthur Kronfeld Arthur Kronfeld Arthur Kronfeld was a German Psychiatrist.-1933 - 1941: Suppression and exile :... |
||
| 1989 | Scandal | John Profumo John Profumo Brigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE , informally known as Jack Profumo , was a British politician. His title, 5th Baron, which he did not use, was Italian. Although Profumo held an increasingly responsible series of political posts in the 1950s, he is best known today for his... |
|
| 1993 | Six Degrees of Separation Six Degrees of Separation (film) Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing... |
Geoffrey Miller | |
| The Ballad of Little Jo The Ballad of Little Jo The Ballad of Little Jo is a 1993 western film inspired by the true story of a society woman who tries to escape the stigma of bearing a child out of wedlock by going out to the West, and living disguised as a man... |
Percy Corcoran | ||
| Last Action Hero Last Action Hero Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film.... |
Death | (cameo appearance) | |
| And the Band Played On And the Band Played On (film) And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.The film premiered at the Montreal... |
Bill Kraus Bill Kraus William James "Bill" Kraus was an American gay rights and AIDS activist and congressional aide who served as a liaison between the San Francisco gay community and Congress in the 1980s.... |
CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie |
|
| 1994 | To Die For To Die For (1994 film) To Die For is a British comedy drama film directed by Peter Mackenzie Litten in 1994. It stars Thomas Arklie, Ian Williams, Tony Slattery, Dillie Keane and John Altman. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne, Paul McEvoy, and Litten... |
Quilt Documentary Narrator | (voice) |
| The Shadow The Shadow (1994 film) The Shadow is a 1994 American superhero film, directed by Russell Mulcahy, and based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. Alec Baldwin starred in the title role... |
Dr. Reinhardt Lane | ||
| I'll Do Anything I'll Do Anything I'll Do Anything is a 1994 American dramedy film written and directed by James L. Brooks. Its primary plot concerns a down-on-his-luck actor who suddenly finds himself the sole caretaker of his six-year-old daughter.-Synopsis:... |
John Earl McAlpine | ||
| 1995 | Restoration | Will Gates | |
| Cold Comfort Farm (film) | Amos Starkadder | (TV) | |
| Richard III Richard III (1995 film) Richard III is a 1995 drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West.... |
Richard III Richard III of England Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty... |
European Film Award for Best Actor Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Film Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:... Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968:-1980s:1983: Heat and Dust – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala*Betrayal – Harold Pinter... Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actor or actors whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and international... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951... |
|
| Jack and Sarah Jack and Sarah Jack and Sarah is a 1995 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Tim Sullivan. The film was originally released in the UK on 2 June 1995.The theme song in this film is Stars by British pop group Simply Red.- Plot :... |
William | ||
| 1996 | Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny is a biographical 1996 TV film about Rasputin.-Awards:Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny won a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV. Alan Rickman, starring as Rasputin, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his work in this movie... |
Nicholas II | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1997 | Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron.... |
Dr. James Kennedy | |
| Bent Bent (film) Bent is a 1997 British/Japanese drama film directed by Sean Mathias, based on the 1979 play of the same name by Martin Sherman, who also wrote the screenplay. It revolves around the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany after the murder of Sturmabteilung leader Ernst Röhm on the Night of the... |
Uncle Freddie | ||
| 1998 | Apt Pupil Apt Pupil (film) Apt Pupil is a 1998 American psychological thriller film based on the eponymous 1982 novella by Stephen King. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro... |
Kurt Dussander | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young... (also for Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes... ) Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Florida Film Critics Circle to honor the finest male acting achievements in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... (also for Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes... ) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters Gods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes... |
James Whale James Whale James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein... |
British Independent Film Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young... (also for Apt Pupil Apt Pupil (film) Apt Pupil is a 1998 American psychological thriller film based on the eponymous 1982 novella by Stephen King. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro... ) Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actor or actors whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and international... Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Florida Film Critics Circle to honor the finest male acting achievements in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... (also for Apt Pupil Apt Pupil (film) Apt Pupil is a 1998 American psychological thriller film based on the eponymous 1982 novella by Stephen King. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro... ) Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*... Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... National Board of Review Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor An incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actor :-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor The San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an award given by the San Diego Film Critics Society to honor the finest male acting achievementes in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953... Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Toronto Film Critics Association.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
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| 1999 | David Copperfield David Copperfield (1999 film) David Copperfield is a two part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, adapted by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day and the second on Boxing Day in 1999... |
Mr. Creakle | (TV) |
| 2000 | X-Men X-Men (film) X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane... |
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto Magneto (comics) Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby... |
Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Villain |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Gandalf the Grey Gandalf Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West... |
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:... Nominated—DVD Exclusive Awards for Best Audio Commentary DVD Exclusive Awards The DVD Exclusive Awards is an award that honors direct to video productions. The awards were first held in 2001. They are awarded by online periodical Video Business and The Digital Entertainment Group.... (shared with Elijah Wood Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's... and Liv Tyler Liv Tyler Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994... ) Nominated—Empire Award for Best British Actor Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight MTV Movie Award for Best Fight The MTV Movie Award for Best Fight is an award presented to actors and characters for quality fight scenes in films at the MTV Movie Awards, a ceremony established in 1992. Honors in several categories are awarded by MTV at the annual ceremonies, and are chosen by public vote... (shared with Christopher Lee Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films... ) Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture The Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy.-Drama :2000: Bruce Greenwood – Thirteen Days*Jeff Bridges – The Contender as Jackson Evans... Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Gandalf the White | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... Nominated—Empire Award for Best British Actor Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings... |
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Cast The National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble is an annual film award given by the National Board of Review.-1990s:... Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film... Nominated—Empire Award for Best British Actor Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
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| Emile Emile (film) Emile is a Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai but not released widely until 2004. The cast included Ian McKellen and Deborah Kara Unger... |
Emile | Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role The Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian actor.-1st Genie Awards:* Christopher Plummer, Murder by Decree... |
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| The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
Himself | The Regina Monologues The Regina Monologues "The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, and originally aired November 23, 2003 in the United States. It was written by John Swartzwelder, and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode sees the Simpson family travel to the United Kingdom on holiday. There, they... episode |
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| X2 X2 (film) X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series... |
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto Magneto (comics) Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby... |
Nominated—Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Villain Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with... |
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| 2004 | Eighteen Eighteen (film) Eighteen is a Canadian 2005 dramatic feature film written and directed by Richard Bell.-Plot:The film follows Pip, a street kid who's meeting life head-on in the big city. On his eighteenth birthday he receives his grandfather's Second World War memoirs on audio cassette, a gift that awakens the... |
Jason Anders (in voice) | |
| 2005 | Neverwas Neverwas Neverwas is a 2005 English film written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, starring Ian McKellen, Aaron Eckhart, Brittany Murphy and Nick Nolte.It was first shown at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival... |
Gabriel Finch | |
| Asylum | Dr. Peter Cleave | ||
| The Magic Roundabout The Magic Roundabout (film) The Magic Roundabout, , is a 2005 British computer-animated film based on the television series of the same name... |
Zebedee | (voice) | |
| Coronation Street Coronation Street Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960... |
Mel Hutchwright Mel Hutchwright Mel Hutchwright is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Ian McKellen. He makes his first on-screen appearance on 1 May 2005 and is last seen on 22 May 2005.... |
(10 episodes) | |
| 2006 | Extras Extras (TV series) Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it... |
Ian McKellen | Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series |
| Flushed Away Flushed Away Flushed Away is a 2006 computer animated British film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell. It is a partnership between Aardman Animations of Wallace and Gromit fame, and DreamWorks Animation, and is Aardman's first completely computer-animated feature as opposed to the usual stop-motion.The film... |
The Toad | Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production Annie Award The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972... |
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| X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,... |
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto Magneto (comics) Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby... |
Nominated—Irish Film & Television Award for Best International Actor The 4th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards 2007 The 4th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards took place in 2007 and were hosted by Ryan Tubridy at the Royal Dublin Society Main Hall, Dublin, Ireland.-Film:Best Film* The Wind That Shakes the Barley ** Breakfast on Pluto... Nominated—Teen Choice Awards for Movies – Choice Sleazebag Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with... (also for The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci Code (film) The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code... ) |
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| The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci Code (film) The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code... |
Sir Leigh Teabing | Nominated—Teen Choice Awards for Movies – Choice Sleazebag Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with... (also for X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,... ) |
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| 2007 | Stardust | Narrator | (voice) |
| The Golden Compass | Iorek Byrnison | (voice) | |
| 2008 | King Lear | King Lear King Lear King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological... |
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2009 | The Prisoner | Number Two Number Two (The Prisoner) Number Two was the title of the chief administrator of The Village in the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner. More than 17 different actors appeared as holders of the office during the 17-episode series .The first... |
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Gandalf the Grey | Filming |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: There And Back Again | Filming |
Music
- Vampire in the music video "HeartHeart (Pet Shop Boys song)"Heart" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in April 1988 . This is also their last number 1 song to date...
" by Pet Shop BoysPet Shop BoysPet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards.... - The man who's "falling out of reach" in the music video "Falling Out of ReachFalling out of Reach"Falling out of Reach" is a song by Guillemots, which appears on the band's second album, Red. It was released as the second single from their second album on 26 May 2008. It has reached #49 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side, 'Trick Of The Light' was originally recorded for Q...
" by Guillemots - Appears on the Scissor SistersScissor SistersScissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
track "Invisible Light", from their 2010 album "Night Work", reciting a passage regarding the "Invisible Light" of the title.
Audiobooks
- Audiobook narrator of Michelle PaverMichelle PaverMichelle Paver is a British-based novelist and children's writer, author of the six-book series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set in the pre-agricultural Stone Age.- Biography :...
's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series Wolf BrotherWolf BrotherWolf Brother is the first book in the series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. Wolf Brother takes place 6000 years ago during the New Stone Age, and tells the story of twelve-year-old Torak, a boy of the Wolf Clan....
, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Outcast, "Oath Breaker", "Ghost Hunter"
Other work
A recording of McKellen's voice is heard before performances at the Royal Festival HallRoyal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, reminding patrons to ensure their mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off, and to keep coughing to a minimum.
Honours
He was made a Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1979, and knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1991 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
for his outstanding work and contributions to theatre. In the 2008 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(CH) for services to drama and to equality.
Honourary degrees
In 2004 McKellen was conferred an honourary Doctor of LettersDoctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
by Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
. He was praised for his diversity of roles, his "deeply considered dramatic technique" and his Lancastrian roots.
Awards
- 1981: New York Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actor in a Play, for AmadeusAmadeusAmadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979... - 1984: London Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Revival, for Wild HoneyWild Honey (play)Wild Honey is a 1984 adaptation by British playwright Michael Frayn of an earlier play by Anton Chekhov. The original work, a sprawling five-hour drama from Chekhov's earliest years as a writer, has no title but it is usually known in English as Platonov, from its principal character "Mikhail...
- 1984: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, for CoriolanusCoriolanus (play)Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus.-Characters:*Caius Martius, later surnamed Coriolanus...
- 1989: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, for Othello
- 1990: London Olivier Award for Best Actor, for Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
- 1998: Back Stage West Garland AwardsBack Stage West Garland AwardsThe Back Stage Garland Awards — also referred to simply as the Garland Awards, and known as the Back Stage West Garland Awards from 1998 to 2008 — are bestowed by the entertainment-industry newspaper Back Stage, honoring excellence in Southern California theatre...
, for his one-man show A Knight Out in Los Angeles - 2004: Manila, Philippines Pride International Film FestivalPride International Film FestivalPride International Film Festival is an international LGBT film festival which advocates HIV and AIDS awareness and education through films and videos. The first festival, originally planned for 2003, took place on August 21, 2004 in Manila, Philippines...
's Lifetime Achievement & Distinction Award - 2007: Annie AwardAnnie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, for Flushed AwayFlushed AwayFlushed Away is a 2006 computer animated British film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell. It is a partnership between Aardman Animations of Wallace and Gromit fame, and DreamWorks Animation, and is Aardman's first completely computer-animated feature as opposed to the usual stop-motion.The film... - In May 2007, he was named, by the Independent on Sunday Pink List, the fifth most influential gay person in Britain, down from the 1st place the previous year.
- 2009: San Sebastián International Film FestivalSan Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
Donostia AwardDonostia AwardThe Donostia Award is an honorific award given every year to one, two or three actors in the San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was created in 1986.-Award winners:*2011: Glenn Close.*2010: Julia Roberts.*2009: Ian McKellen....
in recognition of an extensive professional career. - 2010: Empire Awards 2010Empire Awards 2010The 15th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2009, were held on March 28, 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel and hosted by Dara Ó Briain. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
: Empire Icon Award
Interviews, blogs and clips
- Good Morning (TVNZ) interview with McKellen - Waiting for Godot/The Hobbit
- Interview and photoshoot factory-publishing.com
- McKellen's personal pages on the Lord of the Rings movie, with a diary and answers to questions by fans
- Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com
- Podcast interview
- Interview at AfterElton.com
- Extended BBC interviews with McKellen as he prepares to play King Lear
- "A conversation with Sir Ian": Interactive video interview with McKellen on Shakespeare, Richard III and Richard's opening speech
- Emma Brockes, Every inch a king (interview) The Guardian, November 2007
- Ian McKellen: A Free Man The Telegraph, 15 December 2008