This page will contain images 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. Partial Filmography:. Television:. by his wife for interrment in the Southborough Rural Cemetery. Film:. Following cremation in Sweden, his ashes were brought back to the U.S. Theater:. Warner Oland and his wife made a historic farmhouse near the village of Southborough, Massachusetts their primary residence. The group is named after the Stonewall riots. While there, he contacted bronchial pneumonia and hampered by the apparent onset of emphysema from years of heavy cigarette smoking, he passed away at a hospital in Stockholm. He is a co-founder of Stonewall, a gay rights lobby group in the United Kingdom. Signed to a new contract by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation to make three more Charlie Chan films, in early 1938 Oland's health problems worsened and he spent several weeks in hospital then took time off to travel to his native Sweden. McKellen has continued up to the present to be very active in gay rights efforts. Despite his wealth and success, Oland suffered from alcoholism that severely affected his heath and his thirty-year marriage. 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). Although Oland did act in other films, the enormous worldwide box office success of his Charlie Chan film led to a Charlie Chan industry with Oland starring in sixteen films in total. 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. Firmly locked into oriental roles, he was cast as Charlie Chan in the 1931 international detective mystery film, Charlie Chan Carries On and then in director Josef von Sternberg's 1932 film, Shanghai Express. By the time he came out, McKellen's ten-year relationship with Mathias had also ended. Fu Manchu in three more films. McKellen continued to fight for its repeal and criticised British Prime Minister Tony Blair for failing to concern himself with the issue. A box office success, the film made Oland a star and during the next two years, he portrayed the evil Dr. Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003. Fu Manchu. 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. With a lack of skilled oriental actors available in Hollywood, he portrayed a variety of oriental characters in several movies before being offered the leading role in the 1929 film, The Mysterious Dr. schools. Oland's facial features, aided by makeup, allowed him to easily play the part of oriental characters. 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. Over the next fifteen years he appeared in more than thirty films, including a major role in 1927's The Jazz Singer, one of the first talkies produced. It was not until 1988 that he came out in a really public way. He made several more films with Pearl White including his first portrayal of an oriental character in her 1919 film, The Lightning Raider. While McKellen was always out to his co-actors, his public persona was another matter. As a result of his training as a Shakespearean actor and his easy adaptation to a sinister look, he was much in demand as a villain and in ethic roles. For The Fellowship of the Ring he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It would be another three years before he returned to film work with a role in The Romance of Elaine, an adventure film starring the extremely popular Pearl White. 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). After several years in theater, including appearances on Broadway as Warner Oland, in 1912 he made his silent film debut in Pilgrim's Progress, a film based on the John Bunyan novel. First he played Magneto in X-Men and its sequel X2. The brillant woman made an ideal partner for Oland and she mastered the Swedish language, helping him with the translation of Strindberg's works that they jointly had published in book form in 1912. More recently, McKellen has become a major global star by playing leading roles in blockbuster films. The following year he met and married the playright and portrait painter, Edith Gardener Shearn. 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. Trained as a dramatic actor, in 1906, he was signed to tour the country with the troupe led by actress Alla Nazimova. He considers it a perpetual "work in progress". As a young man he pursued a career in theater, at first working on set design while developing his acting skills. The show was very successful and he still performs it today. An intellect educated in Boston, Massachusetts, he spoke English and his native Swedish, and eventually translated some of the plays of August Strindberg. In 1994 McKellen put together a one man show, A Knight Out. Born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden, at age thirteen his family emigrated to the United States. He was appointed CBE in 1979 and knighted in 1990 for his outstanding work and contributions to the theatre, becoming Sir Ian McKellen. Warner Oland born October 3, 1879 - died August 6, 1938, was a Swedish actor most remembered for his role as "Charlie Chan.". 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. Pilgrim's Progress (1912). His breakthrough role for mainstream American audiences came with the modestly-acclaimed Apt Pupil, based on a story by Stephen King. The Romance of Elaine (1915). The performance was critically acclaimed, and he was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and won the European Film Award for best actor. The Fatal Ring (1917). In 1995, he played the title role in Richard III. Mandarin's Gold (1919). 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. The Phantom Foe (1920). 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. East Is West (1922). public. The Fighting American (1924). 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. Riders of the Purple Sage (1925). He was awarded the Tony Award for his performance, the most prestigious award given to actors in live theater in the United States. Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925). 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. The Jazz Singer (1927). 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. The Drums of Jeopardy (1931). Since starring in the original Broadway production of Bent, he has been involved in two other productions of the play. Dishonored (1931). Bent proved to be of great significance to McKellen. Shanghai Express (1932). "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. The Painted Veil (1934). At first, he was unsure whether he dared to take the role. Werewolf of London (1935). 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. Charlie Chan's Secret (1935). McKellen starred on Broadway in Bent, a play about gay men in Nazi death camps, starting in 1979. Charlie Chan in Paris (1935). However, Mathias also says McKellen "did nothing but help me" in his career. Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936). 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. Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937). According to Mathias, the love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career. Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937). In 1978 he met his second lover, Sean Mathias, at the Edinburgh Festival. Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937). 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 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. He later reprised the role for the BBC. The production was controversial for its explicit torture scenes and implicit homosexuality. 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. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. It was a relationship that was to last for eight years, ending in 1972. He and his first lover, Brian Taylor, began their relationship in 1964. He was already a major name in the theatre before establishing himself as a television and film actor. 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. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge when he was 18, where he developed an intense crush on Derek Jacobi. He won a scholarship to St. McKellen's acting career started while he was still a boy. 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.". "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. His home environment was strongly Christian, but non-orthodox. McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer, was a lay preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers as well. 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 was born in Burnley, Lancashire, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and has indicated that this had some impact on him. He is also well known as a campaigner for gay rights. His roles have spanned genres from serious Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular action movies. 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 Scarlet Pimpernel. Asylum (2004). X2: X-Men United (as Magneto/Erik Lensherr) (2003). The Return of the King (2003). The Two Towers (2002). The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). X-Men (2000) (as Magneto/Erik Lensherr). Apt Pupil (1998). Gods and Monsters (1997). Bent (1997) (as Uncle Freddie). Rasputin (1996) (as Tsar Nicholas II). Richard III (1995). Scandal (as John Profumo). Plenty. Dance of Death, Broadway. Amadeus (1979), Broadway. Bent (1979), Broadway. |