Ian McKellen

Birthday: 25 May 1939, Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK

Birth Name: Ian Murray McKellen

Height: 180 cm

Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery Lois (Sutcliffe) and Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer. He is of Scottish, Northern Irish, and English descent. During his early childhood, his parents moved with Ian and his sister Jean to the mill town of Wigan. It was in this small town that young Ian rode out World War II. He soon developed a fascination with acting and the theater, which was encouraged by his parents. They would take him to plays, those by William Shakespeare, in particular. The amateur school productions fostered Ian's growing passion for theatre. When Ian was of age to begin attending school, he made sure to get roles in all of the productions. At Bolton School in particular, he developed his skills early on. Indeed, his first role in a Shakespearian play was at Bolton, as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night". Ian soon began attending Stratford-upon-Avon theater festivals, where he saw the greats perform: Laurence Olivier, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Paul Robeson. He continued his education in English Drama, but soon it fell by the wayside as he concentrated more and more on performing. He eventually obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1961, and began his career in earnest. McKellen began working in theatre over the next few years. Very few people knew of Ian's homosexuality; he saw no reason to go public, nor had he told his family. They did not seem interested in the subject and so he saw no reason to bring it up. In 1988, Ian publicly came out of the closet on the BBC Radio 4 program, while discussing Margaret Thatcher's "section 28" legislation which would make the "public promotion of homosexuality" a crime. It was reason enough for McKellen to take a stand, and he has been active in the Gay Rights movement ever since.Ian resides in Limehouse, where he has also lived with his former long-time partner Sean Mathias. The two men have also worked together on the film Bent (1997) as well as in acclaimed stage productions. To this day, McKellen works mostly in theater, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for his efforts in the arts. However, he has managed to make several quite successful forays into film. He has appeared in several productions of Shakespeare's works including his well received Richard III (1995), and in a variety of other movies. However, it has only been recently that his star has finally begun to shine in the eyes of North American audiences. Roles in various films, Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Apt Pupil (1998) and Gods and Monsters (1998), riveted audiences. The latter, in particular, created a sensation in Hollywood, and McKellen's role garnered him several of awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod. McKellen, as he continues to work extensively on stage, he always keeps on 'solidifying' his 'role' as Laurence Olivier's worthy 'successor' in the best sense too, such as _King Lear (2008)_ directed by Trevor Nunn and in a range of other staggering performances full of generously euphoric delight that have included "Peter Pan" and Noël Coward's "Present Laughter", as well as Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land", both in acclaimed productions brilliantly directed by Sean Mathias.McKellen found mainstream success with his performance as Magneto in X-Men (2000) and its sequels. His largest mark on the big screen may be as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, which he reprised in The Hobbit trilogy. Hide

I ... think of the Bible as great literature rather than great history; great imagination rather tha Show more I ... think of the Bible as great literature rather than great history; great imagination rather than reliable witness. Whatever, it is not as a law book that I respect the Bible. Hide

If I was a star, it would be difficult to go off and do Coronation Street (1960). So I guess I'm not Show more If I was a star, it would be difficult to go off and do Coronation Street (1960). So I guess I'm not a star. Hide

"The Lord of the Rings" is a mythology, it is a fairy tale, it's an adventure story. It never happen Show more "The Lord of the Rings" is a mythology, it is a fairy tale, it's an adventure story. It never happened. Except somewhere in our hearts. Hide

I've always loved dictionaries and encyclopedias. Now you get all that on your computer. It's fantas Show more I've always loved dictionaries and encyclopedias. Now you get all that on your computer. It's fantastic. You're looking up something about Dickens and you're invited to explore more and more. I don't know if that's wasting time or not but it doesn't help me to learn lines. Hide

I don't approve of titles. I think they get in the way. I do however approve of medals for public se Show more I don't approve of titles. I think they get in the way. I do however approve of medals for public service, and that's how I choose to look at it.. [But] other actors said to me, 'Please we need a knighthood. Because when a knight knocks on the door of a government office, it has to open'. Hide

I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer at the front saying, "This is fiction." I mean Show more I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer at the front saying, "This is fiction." I mean, walking on water? I mean, it takes an act of faith. Hide

Many unthinking people just don't like the idea of gays joining in their games, nor in the military Show more Many unthinking people just don't like the idea of gays joining in their games, nor in the military and, it would seem, in the movies. Hide

[on the Oscars] My speech has been in two jackets ... 'I'm proud to be the first openly gay man to w Show more [on the Oscars] My speech has been in two jackets ... 'I'm proud to be the first openly gay man to win the Oscar.' I've had to put it back in my pocket twice. [2016] Hide

I like fantasy movies, I like musicals, I like variety shows, I like Tony Bennett - it's all the sam Show more I like fantasy movies, I like musicals, I like variety shows, I like Tony Bennett - it's all the same to me. The fact that some things are more popular than others doesn't make them better, and it certainly doesn't make them worse. Hide

[12/5/03, about the cheering fans outside the InterContinentel Hotel, where he was staying in Wellin Show more [12/5/03, about the cheering fans outside the InterContinentel Hotel, where he was staying in Wellington, New Zealand:] It's like several Christmases all come at once. They all love Gandalf, but I'm like Father Christmas in the shop. I'm not the real one. Hide

I am encouraged by the theatricality of [J.R.R. Tolkien's] readings - full of rhythm and humor and c Show more I am encouraged by the theatricality of [J.R.R. Tolkien's] readings - full of rhythm and humor and characterization. Without question Gandalf is like Tolkien but then so, I suspected, are Frodo and Aragorn. Hide

[at a reunion, to observer Michael Fassbender] I just want to say how lovely it is to be back in Cal Show more [at a reunion, to observer Michael Fassbender] I just want to say how lovely it is to be back in California. I feel safe here now that you've got rid of Proposition 8. I'm looking for a husband. It's great to meet you Michael. Hide

Nobody has ever looked to Hollywood for social advance. Hollywood is a dream factory. I love the way Show more Nobody has ever looked to Hollywood for social advance. Hollywood is a dream factory. I love the way that conservatives think that Hollywood is a bed of radicalism - it couldn't be more staid and old-ladyship if it tried. The audience don't give a blind whatever about the sexuality of actors. Gay people fancy straight people and vice-versa. It's all in the head, so what does it matter? You're not going to meet 'Heath Ledger'. You're not going to find out . . . It's the image you're looking at and falling in love with. There will be girls who go and see those two unhappy gay cowboys and go home and have fantasy dreams about them. Lovely! Hide

I think it's one thing to declare your sexuality, if you care about what that is. It's another thing Show more I think it's one thing to declare your sexuality, if you care about what that is. It's another thing to start talking in public about what you do in private and who you do it with. It's not that they [my significant others] don't want to be identified as gay, but that they don't want to be identified as ... with me. Hide

I've had enough of being a gay icon! I've had enough of all this hard work, because, since I came ou Show more I've had enough of being a gay icon! I've had enough of all this hard work, because, since I came out, I keep getting all these parts, and my career's taken off. I want a quiet life. I'm going back into the closet. But I can't get back into the closet, because it's absolutely jam-packed full of other actors. Hide

I don't think I'm top choice. In theatre - for Shakespeare - I'm quite near the top, but not for all Show more I don't think I'm top choice. In theatre - for Shakespeare - I'm quite near the top, but not for all directors. In film, I'm way, way down. Spielberg's never asked to work with me, Tarantino has never asked, Sam Mendes has never asked. It isn't as if there's a long list of films I've turned down but there are plenty I wish I'd had a go at. That's the truth. Hide

They'll let me play a gray-bearded wizard, but they still wouldn't cast a young gay actor - who was Show more They'll let me play a gray-bearded wizard, but they still wouldn't cast a young gay actor - who was out - in a straight romantic lead. Hide

I looked down from my terrace hanging over the Thames one morning. It was low tide and there, strand Show more I looked down from my terrace hanging over the Thames one morning. It was low tide and there, stranded on the pebbles, was a four-legged corpse - hairless, white and bloated. Was it a calf or a sheep or a goat or a dog? I stared at it until the tide rose and washed it away. For 24 hours I was off my food. When I started eating again, I couldn't face meat - fresh or tinned. Overnight I was vegetarian and I have been for 15 years or more. I've seen the pictures of factory farming and followed the politics of mad cow disease and felt effortlessly superior. Yet it's not reason or conscience that keeps me off meat and fowl--and these days fish, too--just a memory of that unidentifiable, decomposing body on the beach. Hide

Don't give up the projects you really want for some extra time with your girlfriend or because you d Show more Don't give up the projects you really want for some extra time with your girlfriend or because you don't want to miss a holiday with your family. They'll understand. Just don't have any regrets. Hide

It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his Show more It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality. And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian. It's very distressing to me that that should be the case. The film industry is very old fashioned in California. Hide

[on the Academy Awards] If you are trying to have a career, as a black or Hispanic actor in a state Show more [on the Academy Awards] If you are trying to have a career, as a black or Hispanic actor in a state - California - where white people are now the minority, and you are being judged by an Academy where the vast majority are white, male, middle-aged and old ... well, perhaps that is the wrong yardstick. [2016] Hide

I didn't like my character. He didn't seem very deep. He just seemed a representative of evil. - On Show more I didn't like my character. He didn't seem very deep. He just seemed a representative of evil. - On Apt Pupil (1998). Hide

Before Michael Mann had devised Miami Vice (1984) he directed The Keep (1983) and produced it and wr Show more Before Michael Mann had devised Miami Vice (1984) he directed The Keep (1983) and produced it and wrote it. He cast me as the heroine's father, a Romanian academic who gets caught up with Nazis and a monster trapped deep in the Keep. Ever-diligent, I had specially made my first trip to Bucharest and then had a couple of lessons from a dialect coach in London. So by the first day of filming I was ready to sound and feel authentically Romanian. Just before my first take as Dr. Cuza, Michael said: "Drop the accent - make him more Chicago." Well, if the writer/producer/director makes a request, you jump to it. [June 2000] Hide

I don't make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare - in fact, unles Show more I don't make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare - in fact, unless you're a good comedian, you're never going to be able to play Hamlet properly. Hide

When I act, some people fancy me and some of them are women. There we are! What's the problem? They Show more When I act, some people fancy me and some of them are women. There we are! What's the problem? They don't believe me when I say I am in love with a woman?...They don't believe me when I say I am a wizard? They believe me even though they know I am not. It's all nonsense. Everyone knows we are acting. [In a Reuters interview, responding to those who say that gay actors shouldn't come out because then no one will find them believable in romantic scenes with actors of the opposite gender.] Hide

It may be my rather puritanical upbringing at odds with my inborn laziness that makes me feel guilty Show more It may be my rather puritanical upbringing at odds with my inborn laziness that makes me feel guilty at the end of the day, unless I am able to point at some achievement. But this need be no more impressive than cooking a meal or going for a long walk. Hide

My confidence only really peaked when I was 49 and said, "Yes, I'm gay." My confidence only really peaked when I was 49 and said, "Yes, I'm gay."

When I, as Gandalf, meet Bilbo or Frodo at home, I bump my head on the rafters. [J.R.R. Tolkien] did Show more When I, as Gandalf, meet Bilbo or Frodo at home, I bump my head on the rafters. [J.R.R. Tolkien] didn't think to mention it. Hide

Peter [Jackson] and I were just so thrilled that Gandalf the White wasn't in 'The Hobbit'. We prefer Show more Peter [Jackson] and I were just so thrilled that Gandalf the White wasn't in 'The Hobbit'. We prefer Gandalf the Grey. He can have a smoke and a drink and a chat , and do a few little tricks. It was a great relief. Hide

I get offered a lot of parts that require long beards. I've turned down God on a number of occasions Show more I get offered a lot of parts that require long beards. I've turned down God on a number of occasions. Hide

Acting is no longer about lying. It's now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Show more Acting is no longer about lying. It's now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Honesty is the best policy. Hide

About the 2008 death of Brad Renfro: "I first caught sight of Brad Renfro when he was kicking a foot Show more About the 2008 death of Brad Renfro: "I first caught sight of Brad Renfro when he was kicking a football around with Bryan Singer on the half-built set of Apt Pupil (1998) in Hollywood. He was a kid having fun and that's how I shall always remember him. But he was more than that. He was a proper actor and when we worked together he was determined to be accepted as such. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefited from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders. He longed to belong in the alien world which perhaps in the end overwhelmed him. He was only 25 and it is dreadful we shan't see all that he might have achieved." Hide

[12/5/03, on initially thinking it crazy to release the LOTR trilogy 12 months apart] I thought peop Show more [12/5/03, on initially thinking it crazy to release the LOTR trilogy 12 months apart] I thought people wouldn't remember what happened a year ago. But I hadn't factored that they would be so successful at the box office, and that so many people would buy the DVD and videos in between the release of each film. I had thought the whole enterprise was doomed, because of the release pattern. I'm very happy to have been proved wrong. Hide

They didn't call it marriage, although you can call it anything you want. The one thing you cannot m Show more They didn't call it marriage, although you can call it anything you want. The one thing you cannot mention is God, that is absolutely verboten. I suppose I'm a bit mean-spirited, but I really can't see why the government couldn't just say gay people can get married - that would have been true equality and so much simpler. But that hasn't been done because they couldn't face the furore. So they've passed a law that is not available to straight people - straight people cannot have a civil partnership, they have to get married - extraordinary. Hide

[on his first theatre experience, "Peter Pan"] I wasn't over-impressed. For one thing it wasn't a re Show more [on his first theatre experience, "Peter Pan"] I wasn't over-impressed. For one thing it wasn't a real crocodile and I could see the wires. Hide

It wasn't exactly a mistake, but if there's anything I regret, it's probably having disguised my own Show more It wasn't exactly a mistake, but if there's anything I regret, it's probably having disguised my own native accent. Actors of my generation all tended to speak RP [received pronunciation]. Of course, it's all different now and drama students are encouraged to keep their regional accents and be able to do RP when required. Even at the BBC these days there's no standardised accent, and I rather think that's a good thing. Hide

I'm a snob about standards. But I don't find anything odd at all in being known for playing Gandalf. Show more I'm a snob about standards. But I don't find anything odd at all in being known for playing Gandalf. I couldn't be happier about it. Other people tend to get snobbish on my behalf. 'It must be dreadful to always be thought of as Gandalf', they say. Well I can't always be thought of as Richard III. Hide

If The Da Vinci Code (2006) had been filming in a place where it rains a lot, I probably wouldn't ha Show more If The Da Vinci Code (2006) had been filming in a place where it rains a lot, I probably wouldn't have done it. Quite low down in the list is "How much am I going to be paid?" I'd say I was quite cheap, but my main feeling about money is that I don't want to feel as though I'm being taken advantage of. Certainly, I'm cheaper than Anthony Hopkins. The other actors they asked to play Gandalf wouldn't go to New Zealand on that money for that length of time. I thought it would be a bit of an adventure. Tony Hopkins didn't think it would be an adventure. Tony is part of Hollywood. I'm an eccentric English actor, and there's a lot of us around. Hide

[on 'coming out' as being gay] I immediately felt better in every way. I felt relieved that I wasn't Show more [on 'coming out' as being gay] I immediately felt better in every way. I felt relieved that I wasn't lying. You know, when I was growing up in England, there were no gay clubs I knew about. There were no bars. Homosexuals were shamed publicly and imprisoned. You were on your own, looking over your shoulder all the time, hoping in the handshake of a stranger that he might be somebody gay. The first film role I deliberately chose to play after I came out was a raging heterosexual, John Profumo. I was just a little bit worried about whether I could carry out the bed scenes. Hide

I often get mistaken for 'Dumbledore'. One wizard is very much like another. I often get mistaken for 'Dumbledore'. One wizard is very much like another.

In theatre, I have been able to take parts I didn't think I could do - you have time to rehearse and Show more In theatre, I have been able to take parts I didn't think I could do - you have time to rehearse and learn. In movies, they want you to do what they know you can do - there isn't the time. Hide

Ian McKellen's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (305)

Doctor Who - Season 13

Asylum

The Graham Norton Show - Season 1

The Graham Norton Show - Season 27

Family Guy - Season 19

Flushed Away

The Wolverine

Portrait Artist of the Year - Season 11

Family Guy - Season 15

The Shadow (1994)