Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen CH CBE
McKellen at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	Ian Murray McKellen (1939-05-25) 25 May 1939 (age 77) Burnley, Lancashire, England
Alma mater	St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–present
Partner(s)	Brian Taylor (1964–1972) Sean Mathias (1978–1988)
Website	Official website

Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BIF Award, two Saturn Awards, four Drama Desk Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards. He has also received two Oscar nominations, four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award nominations.

McKellen's career spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. The BBC states his "performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors". A recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK, McKellen is regarded as a British cultural icon. He started his professional career in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of their highly regarded repertory company. In 1969 he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II, and he firmly established himself as one of the country's foremost classical actors. In the 1970s McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He achieved worldwide fame for his notable film roles, which include Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and Magneto in the X-Men films, both of which introduced McKellen to a brand new generation.