Ian McKellen first appeared in the television drama series ‘The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling’ in 1964. He continued to star in television films and series such as ‘Sunday Out of Season’ (1965), ‘The Wednesday Play’ (1965), and ‘David Copperfield’ (1966). He went on to make his silver screen debut in the 1969 British epic film ‘Alfred the Great’ directed by Clive Donner. The film holds a 6.2 out of 10 rating on IMDb. The same year, he also appeared in the Waris Hussein-directed British drama film ‘A Touch of Love’ where he starred as ‘George.’ The film failed to perform at the box office. He next portrayed ‘D. H. Lawrence’ in the 1981 British biographical film ‘Priest of Love’ directed by Christopher Miles. The film has a 60% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes while a 6.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb. He was next seen in films like ‘The Keep’ (1983), ‘Plenty’ (1985), ‘Zina’ (1985), ‘Scandal’ (1989), ‘The Ballad of Little Jo’ (1993), ‘Last Action Hero’ (1993), ‘To Die For’ (1994), and ‘The Shadow’ (1994). In 1994, he starred as ‘John Earl McAlpine’ in the James L. Brooks-directed American comedy-drama film ‘I'll Do Anything.’ The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics but was a commercial failure. He next starred in films like ‘Restoration’ (1995), ‘Richard III’ (1995), ‘Jack and Sarah’ (1995), ‘Swept from the Sea’ (1997), and ‘Bent’ (1997).Â
McKellen received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his portrayal of ‘James Whale’ in the 1998 period drama film ‘Gods and Monsters’ directed by Bill Condon. The film opened to a positive reception and holds a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The following year, he played the role of ‘Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto’ in the Bryan Singer-directed American superhero film ‘X-Men.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office, grossing over $296.3 million on a $75 million budget. He next starred as ‘Gandalf the Grey’ in the 2001 epic fantasy adventure film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ directed by Peter Jackson. The film opened to universal acclaim and was a phenomenal box office success, grossing over $897.7 million on a budget of $93 million. He also received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his performance in the film. McKellen went on to star in films such as ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002), ‘X2’ (2003), ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003), ‘Eighteen’ (2004), ‘Neverwas’ (2005), ‘Asylum’ (2005), ‘Flushed Away’ (2006), ‘The Da Vinci Code’ (2006), ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006), ‘The Golden Compass’ (2007), ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (2012), ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014), ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ (2014), ‘Mr. Holmes’ (2015), ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2017), ‘All Is True’ (2019), and ‘Cats’ (2019). McKellen was last seen in the 2021 Matthew Butler-Hart-directed British science fiction film ‘Infinitum: Subject Unknown’ where he played the role of Dr. Charles Marland-White. The film holds a 75% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.
