Ian McKellen

Actor. Born 25 May 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK.

Titles on Fi1m

Born

25 May 1939, Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK

Active

2019–present

Biography

Ian McKellen is an English actor born on 25 May 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire. He made his stage debut in 1961 and first West End appearance in 1965. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre in the 1970s and has won five Olivier Awards for stage roles.

McKellen is known for playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), Magneto in the X-Men films (2000–2014), and Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (2017). His film credits also include Gus the Theatre Cat in Cats (2019) and Julian Sklar in The Christophers (2026). He received a Tony Award for Amadeus (1980) and was knighted in 1991.

Compiled from published sources (en.wikipedia.org, mckellen.com) · 10 September 2026How we write and check

Filmography

Beyond what we have reviewed, Ian McKellen is known for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).

The Christophers

2026 · as Julian Sklar

Cats

2019 · as Gus, the Theatre Cat