This page will contain blogs about Ian McKellen, as they become available.Ian McKellenSir Ian McKellen takes a day out at Universal Studios, Hollywood, April 2000. Although a veteran performer on both stage and screen, he has only recently taken up serious Hollywood roles.Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CBE (born May 25, 1939) is a highly acclaimed British actor on both stage and screen, regarded by many as the greatest living British actor. His roles have spanned genres from serious Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular action movies. He is also well known as a campaigner for gay rights. Youth and early careerMcKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and has indicated that this had some impact on him. In an interview with The Advocate magazine (December 25, 2001), when an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack, he said: "Well, darling, you forget — I slept under a steel plate [during the Battle of Britain] until I was four years old." (Quotes in this article are from the Advocate interview unless otherwise noted.) McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer, was a lay preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers as well. His home environment was strongly Christian, but non-orthodox. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met." When he was 12, his mother, Margery Lois McKellen (née Sutcliffe) died; his father died when he was 24. When he came out of the closet to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a Quaker: "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying any more." McKellen's acting career started while he was still a boy. He won a scholarship to St. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge when he was 18, where he developed an intense crush on Derek Jacobi. He has characterised it as "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited." McKellen made his stage début in Coventry in 1961 and his West End début in 1964. He was already a major name in the theatre before establishing himself as a television and film actor. He and his first lover, Brian Taylor, began their relationship in 1964. It was a relationship that was to last for eight years, ending in 1972. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. First major stage rolesThe role that made McKellen famous was his 1969 portrayal of King Edward II of England in the Prospect Theatre Company's touring production of Marlowe's Edward II. The production was controversial for its explicit torture scenes and implicit homosexuality. He later reprised the role for the BBC. In 1972, he founded the Actors' Company with his friend Edward Petherbridge, and this was the beginning of his reputation as a spokesman for actors and the British theatre in general. Between 1974 and 1978, he enhanced his reputation with leading roles in Royal Shakespeare Company productions such as Romeo and Juliet (in which he played opposite Francesca Annis) and Macbeth (opposite Judi Dench). In 1978 he met his second lover, Sean Mathias, at the Edinburgh Festival. According to Mathias, the love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career. Mathias said that "in those days, the world was far more homophobic, and me being the young, pretty boy — people wouldn't take me seriously as an actor, being Ian's boyfriend." Mathias was 22 when they met; McKellen 39. However, Mathias also says McKellen "did nothing but help me" in his career. Award-winning successesMcKellen starred on Broadway in Bent, a play about gay men in Nazi death camps, starting in 1979. Despite his role in this groundbreaking play, which brought to public view for the first time in a widespread way the persecution of gay people in Nazi Germany, McKellen was not yet out publicly. At first, he was unsure whether he dared to take the role. "As impressed as I was by it, I thought 'My God! Do I dare be in this?' And Sean read it and said, 'Well you have to do it'," he said. Bent proved to be of great significance to McKellen. Since starring in the original Broadway production of Bent, he has been involved in two other productions of the play. In 1990 he starred in the revival at the National Theatre in London directed by Mathias, and also made a supporting appearance in the movie version, also directed by Mathias, which was released in 1997. McKellen's talents won him successively more important and visible parts, until eventually in 1980 he won the role of Salieri in the Broadway production of Amadeus. He was awarded the Tony Award for his performance, the most prestigious award given to actors in live theater in the United States. His appearance as Walter, a mentally-retarded adult, in a 1982 television play, won him a new following; but he was still a relative unknown to much of the U.S. public. Sir Ian McKellen played the wizard Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination.In the 1990s, McKellen began to branch into major American film and television roles. In 1993, McKellen had a supporting role as a South African tycoon in the sleeper hit Six Degrees of Separation, in which he starred with Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Will Smith. In the same year, he was also exposed to North American audiences in minor roles in the television miniseries Tales of the City (based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin) and the movie Last Action Hero. In 1995, he played the title role in Richard III. The performance was critically acclaimed, and he was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and won the European Film Award for best actor. His breakthrough role for mainstream American audiences came with the modestly-acclaimed Apt Pupil, based on a story by Stephen King. McKellen portrayed an old Nazi officer, living under a false name in the U.S., who was befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro) who threatened to expose him unless he told his story in detail. He was appointed CBE in 1979 and knighted in 1990 for his outstanding work and contributions to the theatre, becoming Sir Ian McKellen. In 1994 McKellen put together a one man show, A Knight Out. The show was very successful and he still performs it today. He considers it a perpetual "work in progress". He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters, where he played James Whale, gay director of Show Boat (1936) and Frankenstein. More recently, McKellen has become a major global star by playing leading roles in blockbuster films. First he played Magneto in X-Men and its sequel X2. He followed that performance with the role of Gandalf in the three films that comprise the screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). For The Fellowship of the Ring he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Work for gay rightsWhile McKellen was always out to his co-actors, his public persona was another matter. It was not until 1988 that he came out in a really public way. In that year, a controversial law was under consideration in the United Kingdom called Section 28 which proposed to ban any discussion of homosexuality in U.K. schools. McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and declared himself gay during a debate that aired on the BBC. "My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight," he said. Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003. McKellen continued to fight for its repeal and criticised British Prime Minister Tony Blair for failing to concern himself with the issue. By the time he came out, McKellen's ten-year relationship with Mathias had also ended. He has stated that being free of the additional concern of what effect his coming out would have on his partner's career made the choice easier, as did the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay author Armistead Maupin. In 1994, he made a bit of a splash at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games, where he stood before a crowd of gay athletes and their supporters and fans to say, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena." (This nickname had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred) McKellen has continued up to the present to be very active in gay rights efforts. He is a co-founder of Stonewall, a gay rights lobby group in the United Kingdom. The group is named after the Stonewall riots. Stage and screen creditsTheater:
Film:
Television:
ReferencesQuotes used in this article are from an interview conducted by The Advocate, December 11, 2001. This page about Ian McKellen includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Ian McKellen News stories about Ian McKellen External links for Ian McKellen Videos for Ian McKellen Wikis about Ian McKellen Discussion Groups about Ian McKellen Blogs about Ian McKellen Images of Ian McKellen |
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Quotes used in this article are from an interview conducted by The
Advocate, December 11, 2001. The group is named after the Stonewall riots. Lord Olivier is interred in Westminster Abbey, London, England. He is a co-founder of Stonewall, a gay rights lobby group in the United Kingdom. He died in Steyning, West Sussex, England, from complications of a neuromuscular disorder and cancer at the age of 82. McKellen has continued up to the present to be very active in gay rights efforts. As a result between 1973 and 1986 when his health gave out he did many films and TV specials on a 'paycheck' basis on the condition that he would not have to promote the film on release. In 1994, he made a bit of a splash at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games, where he stood before a crowd of gay athletes and their supporters and fans to say, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena." (This nickname had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred). After the opening of the National Theatre Olivier became concerned that he had not done enough to provide for his family after he died. He has stated that being free of the additional concern of what effect his coming out would have on his partner's career made the choice easier, as did the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay author Armistead Maupin. He was created a Knight Bachelor in 1947, and a life peer in 1970 (the first actor to be accorded this distinction) as Baron Olivier, of Brighton in the County of Sussex, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1981. By the time he came out, McKellen's ten-year relationship with Mathias had also ended. He won both Best Actor and Best Picture (as the producer) for Hamlet in 1949, and two honorary Oscars (1947, for Henry V; 1979). McKellen continued to fight for its repeal and criticised British Prime Minister Tony Blair for failing to concern himself with the issue. Among his honours are 10 Oscar nominations. Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003. In his book "Melting the Stone: A Journey Around My Father", Olivier and Plowright's son, Richard, described Laurence as being more interested in his work than in his children, and would actually become depressed when he didn't have a job. McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and declared himself gay during a debate that aired on the BBC. "My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight," he said. He was reportedly also intimate with playwright Noel Coward. schools. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I," poking fun at Spoto's claim that Kaye and Olivier were lovers. In that year, a controversial law was under consideration in the United Kingdom called Section 28 which proposed to ban any discussion of homosexuality in U.K. Plowright said "I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. It was not until 1988 that he came out in a really public way. Leigh named Plowright as co-respondent in her divorce, also on grounds of adultery. While McKellen was always out to his co-actors, his public persona was another matter. Esmond named Leigh as co-respondent in her divorce on grounds of adultery. For The Fellowship of the Ring he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Olivier married Joan Plowright on March 17, 1961. He followed that performance with the role of Gandalf in the three films that comprise the screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). They were divorced on December 2, 1960. First he played Magneto in X-Men and its sequel X2. Finally divorced by their respective spouses, they married on August 31, 1940 at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, with Katharine Hepburn as the maid of honour. More recently, McKellen has become a major global star by playing leading roles in blockbuster films. By 1938, he had embarked on a torrid affair with Vivien Leigh, who was also married. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters, where he played James Whale, gay director of Show Boat (1936) and Frankenstein. On July 25, 1930, he married Jill Esmond, whom Olivier biographer Donald Spoto described as "a diffident lesbian." They had one son, Tarquin, and were divorced on January 29, 1940. He considers it a perpetual "work in progress". He was founding director (1962-1973) of the National Theatre of Great Britain for which he recieved his peerage. The show was very successful and he still performs it today. His film breakthrough was his portrayal of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights in 1939. In 1994 McKellen put together a one man show, A Knight Out. His stage breakthrough was in Noel Coward's Private Lives (in 1930), and in Romeo and Juliet (in 1935) alternating the roles of Romeo and Mercutio with John Gielgud. He was appointed CBE in 1979 and knighted in 1990 for his outstanding work and contributions to the theatre, becoming Sir Ian McKellen. It was his father, a clergyman, who decided that Laurence - or Kim as the family called him - would become an actor. McKellen portrayed an old Nazi officer, living under a false name in the U.S., who was befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro) who threatened to expose him unless he told his story in detail. He attended the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. His breakthrough role for mainstream American audiences came with the modestly-acclaimed Apt Pupil, based on a story by Stephen King. Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey. The performance was critically acclaimed, and he was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and won the European Film Award for best actor. Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (May 22, 1907 - July 11, 1989) was an English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. In 1995, he played the title role in Richard III. Lost Empires - 1986. In the same year, he was also exposed to North American audiences in minor roles in the television miniseries Tales of the City (based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin) and the movie Last Action Hero. Peter the Great - 1986. In the 1990s, McKellen began to branch into major American film and television roles. In 1993, McKellen had a supporting role as a South African tycoon in the sleeper hit Six Degrees of Separation, in which he starred with Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Will Smith. The Ebony Tower - 1984. public. The Last Days of Pompeii - 1984. His appearance as Walter, a mentally-retarded adult, in a 1982 television play, won him a new following; but he was still a relative unknown to much of the U.S. King Lear - 1984. He was awarded the Tony Award for his performance, the most prestigious award given to actors in live theater in the United States. A Talent for Murder - 1984. McKellen's talents won him successively more important and visible parts, until eventually in 1980 he won the role of Salieri in the Broadway production of Amadeus. Wagner - 1983. In 1990 he starred in the revival at the National Theatre in London directed by Mathias, and also made a supporting appearance in the movie version, also directed by Mathias, which was released in 1997. Johnson - 1983. Since starring in the original Broadway production of Bent, he has been involved in two other productions of the play. Halpern and Mr. Bent proved to be of great significance to McKellen. Mr. "As impressed as I was by it, I thought 'My God! Do I dare be in this?' And Sean read it and said, 'Well you have to do it'," he said. A Voyage Round My Father - 1982. At first, he was unsure whether he dared to take the role. Brideshead Revisited - 1981. Despite his role in this groundbreaking play, which brought to public view for the first time in a widespread way the persecution of gay people in Nazi Germany, McKellen was not yet out publicly. Daphne Laureola - 1978. McKellen starred on Broadway in Bent, a play about gay men in Nazi death camps, starting in 1979. Come Back, Little Sheba - 1977. However, Mathias also says McKellen "did nothing but help me" in his career. Jesus of Nazareth - 1977. Mathias said that "in those days, the world was far more homophobic, and me being the young, pretty boy — people wouldn't take me seriously as an actor, being Ian's boyfriend." Mathias was 22 when they met; McKellen 39. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - 1976. According to Mathias, the love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career. The Collection - 1976. In 1978 he met his second lover, Sean Mathias, at the Edinburgh Festival. Love Among the Ruins - 1975. Between 1974 and 1978, he enhanced his reputation with leading roles in Royal Shakespeare Company productions such as Romeo and Juliet (in which he played opposite Francesca Annis) and Macbeth (opposite Judi Dench). The World At War - 1974. In 1972, he founded the Actors' Company with his friend Edward Petherbridge, and this was the beginning of his reputation as a spokesman for actors and the British theatre in general. The Merchant of Venice - 1973. He later reprised the role for the BBC. Long Day's Journey Into Night - 1973. The production was controversial for its explicit torture scenes and implicit homosexuality. David Copperfield - 1969. The role that made McKellen famous was his 1969 portrayal of King Edward II of England in the Prospect Theatre Company's touring production of Marlowe's Edward II. Male of the Species - 1969. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. The Power and the Glory - 1961. It was a relationship that was to last for eight years, ending in 1972. The Moon and Sixpence - 1959. He and his first lover, Brian Taylor, began their relationship in 1964. John Gabriel Borkman - 1958. He was already a major name in the theatre before establishing himself as a television and film actor. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - 2004 (via computer-manipulated stock footage). He has characterised it as "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited." McKellen made his stage début in Coventry in 1961 and his West End début in 1964. War Requiem - 1989. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge when he was 18, where he developed an intense crush on Derek Jacobi. Wild Geese II - 1985. He won a scholarship to St. The Bounty - 1984. McKellen's acting career started while he was still a boy. The Jigsaw Man - 1983. When he came out of the closet to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a Quaker: "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying any more.". Clash of the Titans - 1981. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met." When he was 12, his mother, Margery Lois McKellen (née Sutcliffe) died; his father died when he was 24. Inchon - 1981. His home environment was strongly Christian, but non-orthodox. The Jazz Singer - 1980. McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer, was a lay preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers as well. Dracula - 1979. In an interview with The Advocate magazine (December 25, 2001), when an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack, he said: "Well, darling, you forget — I slept under a steel plate [during the Battle of Britain] until I was four years old." (Quotes in this article are from the Advocate interview unless otherwise noted.). A Little Romance - 1979. McKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and has indicated that this had some impact on him. The Boys from Brazil - 1978 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. He is also well known as a campaigner for gay rights. The Betsy - 1978. His roles have spanned genres from serious Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular action movies. A Bridge Too Far - 1977. Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CBE (born May 25, 1939) is a highly acclaimed British actor on both stage and screen, regarded by many as the greatest living British actor. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution - 1976. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Marathon Man - 1976 - Oscar nomination: Best Supporting Actor. Asylum (2004). The Rehearsal - 1974. X2: X-Men United (as Magneto/Erik Lensherr) (2003). Lady Caroline Lamb - 1972. The Return of the King (2003). Sleuth - 1972 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. The Two Towers (2002). Nicholas and Alexandra - 1971. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Three Sisters - 1970. X-Men (2000) (as Magneto/Erik Lensherr). Battle of Britain - 1969. Apt Pupil (1998). The Dance of Death - 1969. Gods and Monsters (1997). Oh! What a Lovely War - 1969. Bent (1997) (as Uncle Freddie). The Shoes of the Fisherman - 1968. Rasputin (1996) (as Tsar Nicholas II). Romeo and Juliet - 1968. Richard III (1995). Khartoum - 1966. Scandal (as John Profumo). Othello - 1965 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. Plenty. Bunny Lake Is Missing - 1965. Dance of Death, Broadway. Uncle Vanya - 1963. Amadeus (1979), Broadway. Term of Trial - 1962. Bent (1979), Broadway. Spartacus - 1960. The Entertainer - 1960 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. The Devil's Disciple - 1959. The Prince and the Showgirl - 1957. Richard III - 1955 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. The Beggar's Opera - 1953. Carrie - 1952. The Magic Box - 1951. Hamlet - 1948 - 2 Oscars: Best Actor, Best Picture; also nominated for Best Director. The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with his Battell at Agincourt in France - 1944 - 2 Oscar nominations: Best Actor, Best Picture (also Academy Honorary Award). This Happy Breed - 1944. The Demi-Paradise - 1943. Forty-Ninth Parallel - 1941. That Hamilton Woman - 1941. Pride and Prejudice - 1940. 21 Days - 1940. Rebecca - 1940 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. Wuthering Heights - 1939 - Oscar nomination: Best Actor. Q Planes - 1939. The Divorce of Lady X - 1938. Fire Over England - 1937. As You Like It - 1936. Conquest of the Air - 1936. Moscow Nights - 1936. No Funny Business - 1933. Perfect Understanding - 1933. Westward Passage - 1932. Potiphar's Wife - 1931. The Yellow Ticket - 1931. Friends and Lovers - 1931. Too Many Crooks - 1930. The Temporary Widow - 1930. Filumena - 1980 (director). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - 1967-8 (producer, director). The Tumbler - 1960 (director). Venus Observed - 1952 (producer and director). Romeo and Juliet - 1940 (also acted, composed, produced, and designed). Romeo and Juliet - 1940 (also producer, composer, director, and designer). Venus Observed - 1952 (producer and director). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - 1967-8 (producer, director). Antony and Cleopatra - 1952 (also acted). Daphne Laureola - 1950 (producer). Romeo and Juliet - 1940 (also acted, composed, directed, and designed). Becket - 1960-1. The Entertainer - 1958. Antony and Cleopatra - 1952 (also producer). The Critic - 1946. Oedipus Rex - 1946. Uncle Vanya - 1946. King Henry IV, Part II - 1946. King Henry IV, Part I - 1946. Romeo and Juliet - 1940 (also producer, composer, director, and designer). No Time for Comedy - 1939. The Green Bay Tree - 1933. Private Lives - 1931. Murder on the Second Floor - 1929. Time (as hologram) - 1986. Tribute to the Lady - 1974. The Party - 1973. Saturday, Sunday, Monday - 1973. Long Day's Journey Into Night - 1971. The Merchant of Venice - 1970. Home and Beauty - 1969. A Flea in her Ear - 1967. The Dance of Death - 1967. Love for Love - 1965. The Master Builder - 1964. Othello - 1964. The Recruiting Officer - 1963. Uncle Vanya - 1963. Semi-Detached - 1962. Rhinoceros - 1960. Titus Andronicus - 1957. The Entertainer - 1957. The Sleeping Prince - 1953. The Sid Field Tribute - 1951. Antony and Cleopatra - 1951. Caesar and Cleopatra - 1951. Venus Observed - 1950. Antigone - 1949. Richard III - 1949. The School for Scandal - 1949. King Lear - 1946. Oedipus & The Critic - 1945. Henry IV Part 2 - 1945. Henry IV Part 1 - 1945. Uncle Vanya - 1945. Richard III - 1944. Arms and the Man - 1944. Peer Gynt - 1944. Elsie Fogerty Jubilee Matine - 1942. Henry V (scene) - 1942. Here's To Our Enterprise - 1938. Coriolanus - 1938. The King of Nowhere - 1938. Othello -1938. Macbeth - 1937. Henry V - 1937. Twelfth Night - 1937. Hamlet - 1937. Bees on the Boatdeck - 1936. Romeo and Juliet - 1935. Golden Arrow - 1935. The Down and Outs Matinee - 1935. Notices (sketch) - 1935. November Afternoon (sketch) - 1935. Ringmaster - 1935. The Winning Post - 1934. November Afternoon (sketch) - 1934. A Kiss for Cinderella - 1934. Journey's End - 1934. Theatre Royal - 1934. Queen of Scots - 1934. Biography - 1934. The Rats of Norway - 1931. Some Other Private Lives (sketch) 1930. Private Lives -1930. After All - 1930. 100 Not Out (sketch) 1930. The Last Enemy - 1929. The Stranger Within - 1929. Paris Bound - 1929. The Circle of Chalk - 1929. Prize Giving at Woodside House School (sketch) - 1929. Beau Geste - 1929. Journey's End - 1928. The Dark Path - 1928. Paul Among The Jews - 1928. Bird in Hand - 1928. The Taming of the Shrew - 1928. Harold - 1928. Back to Methuselah - 1928. Macbeth - 1928. The Adding Machine - 1928. The Song - 1926. The Merchant of Venice - 1926. The Marvellous History of Saint Bernard - 1926. The Cenci - 1926. Oedipus Tyrannus - 1926. Henry VIII - 1925. Henry IV Part 2 - 1925. The Merry Wives of Windsor - 1924. |