Ian McKellen Biography and Wiki
Ian McKellen born as Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE is an English Actor. His career spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award.
He is also a beneficiary of the BIF Award, two Saturn Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, and two Critics’ Choice Awards. He has also received nominations for two Academy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and four BAFTAs. He achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III (1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Ian McKellen Age: How old is Sir Ian McKellen?
He was born on 25 May 1939 (age 81 years), Burnley, United Kingdom. He celebrates his birthday on 25 May every year. He will be 82 years old on 25 May 2021.
Ian McKellen Height: how tall is Ian McKellen?
He stands at a height of around 1.8 m.
Ian McKellen Education
He attended Bolton School. At the age of 18, won a scholarship to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he read English literature. He has since been made an Honorary Fellow of the College.
Ian McKellen Family and Siblings
He is the son of Margery Lois and Denis Murray McKellen. He was their second child, with a sister, Jean, five years his senior. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, his family moved to Wigan. They lived there until Ian was twelve years old, before relocating to Bolton in 1951 after his father had been promoted.
McKellen’s father was a civil engineer and lay preacher and was of Protestant Irish and Scottish descent. Both of McKellen’s grandfathers were preachers, and his great-great-grandfather, James McKellen, was a “strict, evangelical Protestant minister” in Ballymena, County Antrim. His home environment was strongly Christian but non-orthodox.
His great-great-grandfather Robert J. Lowes was an activist and campaigner in the ultimately successful campaign for a Saturday half-holiday in Manchester, the forerunner to the modern five-day workweek, thus making Lowes a “grandfather of the modern weekend”.
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, with the role of Bottom played by Jean McKellen, who continued to act, direct, and produce amateur theatre until her death.
Ian McKellen Husband, Is Ian McKellen in a relationship?
Brian Taylor, a history teacher from Bolton, began their relationship in 1964. Their relationship 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, and according to Mathias, was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen’s success in acting versus Mathias’s somewhat less-successful career. The two remained friends, with Mathias later directing McKellen in Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2009. The pair entered into a business partnership with Evgeny Lebedev, purchasing the lease of The Grapes public house in Narrow Street.
Ian McKellen Net worth: How much is Ian McKellen worth?
His net worth is estimated to be between $55 million, he has been in the media industry for quite some time. He has no doubt amassed a huge fortune with the bulk of his wealth comes from his professional acting career. Despite his obvious riches, he prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Ian McKellen Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen Bio and Wiki
Ian McKellen Photos ( Ex-men Magneto )- Full Names: Ian Murray McKellen
- Popular As: Ian McKellen
- Gender: Male
- Occupation / Profession: Actor
- Nationality: British
- Race / Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Christian
- Sexual Orientation: Gay
Ian McKellen Birthday
- Age / How Old?: 81 years old
- Zodiac Sign: To be updated soon
- Date of Birth: 25 May 1939
- Place of Birth: Burnley, United Kingdom
- Birthday: 25 May
Ian McKellen Body Measurements
- Body Measurements: To be updated soon
- Height / How Tall?: 1.8 m
- Weight: Moderate
- Eye Color: Brown
- Hair Color: Greyish
- Shoe Size: To be updated soon
Ian McKellen Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Denis Murray McKellen
- Mother: Margery Lois
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Jean McKellen
- Marital Status: Married
- Husband: Married to Sir Patrick Stewart
- Children: To be updated soon
Ian McKellen Networth and Salary
- Net Worth: $55 million
- Salary: Under Review
- Source of Income: Movies
Ian McKellen House and Cars
- Place of living: United Kingdom
- Cars: To be updated soon
Ian McKellen Movies
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- X-Men
- The Hobbit: An Unex
- pected Journey
- The Good Liar
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Mr. Holmes
- Gods and Monsters
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Da Vinci Code
- Cats
- X-Men 2
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Apt Pupil
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Richard III
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Flushed Away
- Six Degrees of Separation
- Last Action Hero
- Stardust 2007
- X-men Origins : Magneto
- Macbeth 1979
- Alfred the Great 1969
Ian McKellen Harry Potter
Rumors circulated for years that McKellen had turned down the role of Dumbledore. In 2017, during an appearance on BBC’s HARDtalk with Stephen Sackur, McKellen explained how it went down. McKellen received a phone call asking if he’d be interested in working on Harry Potter.
Though the producers never actually told McKellen which part they had in mind, McKellen jumped to the conclusion that it was Dumbledore, and the casting conversation went no further. McKellen explained that Harris had once criticized him along with fellow actors Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh for being technically brilliant, yet passionless, and McKellen didn’t feel it was right to take over a role from an actor who didn’t approve of his work.
The ship may have sailed on a McKellen appearance in a Harry Potter film, but we’re still holding out hope for a Gandalf reprisal in the upcoming The Lord of the Rings television series.
Ian McKellen Magneto
According to McKellen, “X-Men” director Bryan Singer asked him to play Magneto the next day, to which he said yes. Not long after, director Peter Jackson asked Mckellen to play the wizard Gandalf. McKellen’s chance to play Gandalf was almost put in jeopardy, as filming for “X-Men” ran way over schedule. He made it to New Zealand just on time to film “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Fans can’t even begin to imagine what would have happened had McKellen not played Gandalf, he is Gandalf. Not to mention, he is extremely surprised he would have chosen Magneto over Gandalf but then again that could have had more to do with contracts already having been signed for X-Men than anything else. Regardless, all is well and we get to see McKellen reprise his role as the wizard with the lovely locks in The Hobbit next year.
Ian McKellen Press Night
His description of being knighted by the Queen is subtly hilarious and he gives exultant, full-throated readings of poems. One lucky audience member gets a selfie with Gandalf’s sword. The second half comprises audience chat and observations on and speeches from Shakespeare including a stirring glimpse of what his Hamlet and his Romeo were like as well as the more recent Richard III and Lear. His sonorous phrasing remains masterful, his memory remarkable.
For the encore, he reads the speech Shakespeare contributed to the multi-author play Sir Thomas More, a moving defense of refugees. McKellen acted in the premiere, 378 years after it was written, in 1969: the last actor to originate a Shakespearean role. It’s a fitting end to a show that sets a marker on an extraordinary career and an extraordinary talent, and which celebrates the shared human experience of watching a play.
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have one of the most well-known bromances in Hollywood, and it has been that way pretty much since they first became close some 20 years ago, ironically playing adversaries. The Star Trek and X-Men actor explains that the two never got close until they worked together on the 2000’s X-Men, in which Stewart plays Professor Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, and McKellen plays Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto.
Another unique aspect of Stewart and McKellen’s friendship is that they have both been knighted, and experience Stewart also talked a bit about for Wired. Stewart and McKellen met decades before X-Men when they’d done a production of Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the Royal Shakespeare Company, but weren’t close at the time and didn’t keep in touch in the intervening years.
Ian McKellen Gandalf
Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is a wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien took the name “Gandalf” from the Old Norse “Catalogue of Dwarves” in the Völuspá.
Tolkien derived the name Gandalf from Gandálfr, a dwarf in the Völuspá’s Dvergatal, a list of dwarf-names. In Old Norse, the name means staff-elf. This is reflected in his name Tharkûn, which is “said to mean ‘Staff-man'” in Khuzdul, one of Tolkien’s invented languages.
Gandalf is given several names and nicknames in Tolkien’s writings. Gandalf himself says, “Many are my names in many countries. Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Dwarves, Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.”In an early manuscript version of The Hobbit, he is called Bladorthin.
Ian McKellen The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a film series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, it is an international venture between New Zealand and the United States.
The films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron.
The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, an heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, Pippin, and the wizard Gandalf, unite to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in the War of the Ring in order to aid Frodo by distracting Sauron’s attention.
The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made. It was a major financial success and is among the highest-grossing film series of all time with $2.981 billion in worldwide receipts. Each film was critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, the series winning 17 out of its 30 Academy Award nominations.
The Lord of the Rings Cast
- Frodo Baggins
- Aragorn
- Boromir
- Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck
- Samwise Gamgee
- Gimli
- Legolas
- Peregrin “Pippin” Took
Ian McKellen Richard III
Richard III is a 1995 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, directed by Richard Loncraine. The film adapts the play’s story and characters to a setting based on 1930s Britain, with Richard, depicted as a fascist plotting to usurp the throne.
Ian McKellen portrays the titular Richard, as well as co-writing the screenplay with Loncraine. The cast also includes Annette Bening as Queen Elizabeth, Jim Broadbent as the Duke of Buckingham, Robert Downey Jr. as Rivers, Kristin Scott Thomas as Anne Neville, Nigel Hawthorne as the Duke of Clarence, Maggie Smith as the Duchess of York, John Wood as King Edward IV, Tim McInnerny as Sir William Catesby, and Dominic West as the Earl of Richmond.
The film premiered in Brazil on August 20, 1995, and was released in the United States on December 29, 1995, and in the United Kingdom on April 26 of the following year. The film was critically acclaimed and won several accolades. At the 50th British Academy Film Awards, it won the awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design, with nominations for Best British Film.
Richard III Cast
- Annette Bening as Queen Elizabeth
- Jim Broadbent as the Duke of Buckingham
- Robert Downey Jr. as Rivers
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Anne Neville
- Maggie Smith as the Duchess of York
- John Wood as King Edward IV
- Nigel Hawthorne as George, Duke of Clarence
- Adrian Dunbar as Sir James Tyrrel
- Edward Hardwicke as Lord Stanley
Ian McKellen King Lear
King Lear is a 2008 television film based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Trevor Nunn. It was broadcast on More4 in the UK on Christmas Day, and shown on PBS’ Great Performances in the United States in March 2009. The production was filmed mainly at Pinewood Studios in England.
- Romola Garai – Cordelia
- William Gaunt – Earl of Gloucester
- Jonathan Hyde – Earl of Kent
- Philip Winchester – Edmund
- Sylvester McCoy – The Fool
- Frances Barber – Goneril
- Monica Dolan – Regan
- David Weston – A Gentleman
- Guy Williams – Duke of Cornwall
- Seymour Matthews – Curan
- John Heffernan – Oswald
Ian McKellen Macbeth
Macbeth is a 1979 videotaped version of Trevor Nunn’s Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play by William Shakespeare. Produced by Thames Television, it features Ian McKellen as Macbeth and Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth. The TV version was directed by Philip Casson.
The original stage production was performed at The Other Place, the RSC’s small studio theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. It had been performed in the round before small audiences, with a bare stage and simple costuming. The recording preserves this style: the actors perform on a circular set and with a mostly black background; changes of the setting are indicated only by lighting changes.
Macbeth Cast
- Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth
- John Bown as Lennox
- Susan Dury as 3rd Witch / Lady Macduff
- Judith Harte as 2nd Witch / Gentlewoman
- Greg Hicks as Donalbain / Seyton
- David Howey as Sergeant / 1st Murderer / Doctor
- Griffith Jones as Duncan
- Marie Kean as 1st Witch
- Ian McDiarmid as The Porter / Ross
Ian McKellen Awards
- Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
- Laurence Olivier Award for Society of London Theatre Special Award
- Shorty Award for Best Celebrity
- Golden Bear Honorary Award
- Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
- Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival
- Empire Icon Award
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance
- Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play
- Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Visiting Production
Frequently Asked Questions About Ian McKellen
Who is Ian McKellen?
He is an English actor. His career spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction.
How old is Ian McKellen?
He is an English National born on 25 May 1939, Burnley, United Kingdom.
How tall is Ian McKellen?
He stands at an average height of around 1.8 m.
Is Ian McKellen married?
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have one of the most well-known bromances in Hollywood, the two were once lovebirds.
How much is Ian worth?
His net worth is estimated to be between $55 million, he has been in the media industry for quite some time. He has no doubt amassed a huge fortune with the bulk of his wealth comes from his professional acting career. Despite his obvious riches, he prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Where does Ian live?
He is a resident of London, UK, we shall upload pictures of his house as soon as we have them.
Is Ian dead or alive?
He is alive and in good health. There have been no reports of him being sick or having any health-related issues.
Where is Ian Now?
He is still an actor and activist.
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