Sean Mathias

Sean Mathias
Mathias at a 24 September 2013 press junket at Sardi's restaurant for Waiting for Godot and No Man's Land.
Born	Sean Gerard Mathias (1956-03-14) 14 March 1956 (age 61) Swansea, Wales
Occupation	Theatre director, film director, writer, actor
Years active	1977–present
Spouse(s)	Paul de Lange (m. 2007)
Partner(s)	Ian McKellen (1978–1988)

Sean Gerard Mathias (born 14 March 1956) is a Welsh-born theatre director, film director, writer and actor, known for directing the film Bent and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York City, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney. He has also had a notable professional partnership with actor and former partner Sir Ian McKellen since the late 1970s.

He was included in the 2006 list of the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain in the Independent on Sunday's Pink List. Mathias is co-owner of The Grapes pub along with business partners Ian McKellen and Evgeny Lebedev, since September 2011.

Mathias began his acting career by appearing on the television screen in a small role on an episode of the cult BBC TV series Survivors, in 1977. In the same year, he played an Irish Guards lieutenant in the film A Bridge Too Far.

In 1978, Mathias appeared in a production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, during which time he met actor Ian McKellen who subsequently became his lover of about nine years.

Mathias' acting career continued into the 1980s with minor appearances on TV and in films such as Priest of Love, which starred McKellen as D. H. Lawrence, and The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and McKellen. He made one notable appearance in the 1988 film White Mischief as Gerald Portman.

Another notable TV appearance was on the TV show Minder in 1982. The episode was entitled "Broken Arrow" and, in it, Mathias played the part of a young darts player named Dafydd.