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.
The fight for control of the future of Middle-earth intensifies as Aragorn, aided by Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli, rallies his army at Minas Tirith to fight against the evil forces of Sauron. However, it is only a distraction to give Frodo and Sam more time to destroy the One Ring at the fires of Mount Doom.
After inheriting a mysterious ring forged millennia ago by Dark Lord Sauron to conquer Middle-earth, Frodo Baggins volunteers to carry it to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. In this epic quest, he is accompanied by The Fellowship consisting of Wizard Gandalf, Elf Legolas, Dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor, Isildur's heir Aragorn, and fellow Hobbits Sam, Merry, Pippin.
The second installment of The Lord of the Rings saga continues Frodo and Sam's epic quest to destroy the One Ring and sees them enlisting the guidance of the mysterious Gollum to traverse through the treacherous Dead Marshes, while their friends from the Fellowship, including resurrected Gandalf, help free King Theoden of Rohan from Saruman's deadly spell.
In 2023, mutants are pushed to the brink of extinction by Sentinels, robotic killing machines programmed to identify and exterminate them, as well as humans helping them. In a desperate attempt, Professor X, Magneto, Storm, and Kitty Pryde send volunteer Wolverine five decades back to stop a younger Mystique from attempting to assassinate Bolivar Trask, who created the Sentinels.
Following an unexpected visit from the wizard Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, a simple hobbit from the Shire, reluctantly joins thirteen dwarves on a perilous quest to reclaim their home under the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. They travel through treacherous lands across the Middle-Earth and encounter various dangerous creatures, including the mysterious Gollum obsessed with his 'precious' ring.
This is the second movie the in three part film series The Hobbit based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s book of the same name. In the movie, Bilbo Baggins continues his pursuit, with Wizard Gandalf and fellow dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield, to retake the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from dragon Smaug.
After brainwashed mutant Nightcrawler attempts to assassinate the President in the White House, it triggers an all-out military offensive led by fanatic scientist Colonel William Stryker, who abducts Professor Xavier to use him to kill all mutants with the device Cerebro. The rest of the X-Men must work together with arch enemy Magneto to stop Stryker.
Based on the novel The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, this epic fantasy film serves as one of the three prequels to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The film revolves around a hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who engages in a war along with his comrades, to protect the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of darkness.
In 1957, long after his retirement, renowned film-director James Whale is suffering from permanent health issues as a result of a series of strokes. Despite poor health, he continues to indulge in his homosexual fantasies, much to the consternation of his dedicated housekeeper, Hanna. Whale befriends his newly hired gardener, ex-marine Clayton Boone, with whom he reminisces about his WWI and Hollywood days.
Humans have a growing fear of mutants, who are born with unique genetic mutations, and employ various discriminatory practices to keep their powers in check. Professor Xavier advocates peace between the two groups and runs a school for "gifted" mutant children. However, his old colleague Magneto, who detests humans, steals one of Xavier's protégés to destroy humans.
Due to his lust for the British throne, Richard III starts descending into madness. Though England is torn apart by a civil war, he aspires to rise to dictatorship, but for this, he needs to remove the obstacles to his ascension.
An arrogant and selfish prince is cursed to live as a fearful monster unless he learns to love and is loved in return before the petals of an enchanted rose fall off. Following an unfortunate event, a beautiful young woman ends up locked in his castle, but can love spark between the unlikely pair before time runs out?
Max is a gay Jewish man, living in 1930s Berlin, during the time of the Nazi regime. He is caught and sent to a concentration camp. He tries to deny that he is gay, and gets a yellow label, meant for Jews, instead of the pink one, meant for gays. He soon meets another prisoner named Horst, who proudly wears the pink label, and begins to develop an attraction to him.
In 1947, Sherlock Holmes, now 93 and spending his retirement in a Sussex farmhouse, is struggling with his failing memory, and trying to recollect the facts about his last case that resulted in his retirement. Taking help of his housekeeper’s young son Roger, who is interested in Holmes’ work, he tries to find answers to the unsolved mysteries of that haunting case.
Six Degrees of Separation is a comedy drama mystery film which revolves around Ouisa and her husband, who are art dealers living in New York. Their lives are turned upside down when a mysterious young African American man enters their lives.
Apt Pupil is a crime drama thriller film, which tells the story of Todd Bowden, a college student who is studying the Holocaust. He starts suspecting that his neighbor may be a Nazi war criminal. He eventually starts blackmailing him, asking him to reveal the untold truths, in exchange for keeping his own mouth shut.
A con man targets Betty McLeish, a wealthy British woman who was recently widowed. However, things don’t go as expected, and it soon turns into a cat-and-mouse game.
The third film of the X-Men series, the movie revolves around a 'cure', which can apparently turn any mutant into a regular human being. This leads to outrage, and eventually a war is seen to be imminent.
A mystery thriller that explores the events that unfold after a Harvard University professor is suspected of a grisly and unusual murder, The Da Vinci Code is a fast-paced drama with a surprise ending. The film is considered controversial.
Restoration is a biographical romantic drama film which tells the story of Merival, a physician who devotes himself to helping common people. His life takes a turn when he saves the life of someone close to the king, and becomes part of the King’s court. In order to hide the Queen’s suspicion, the King orders Merival to marry his mistress, but tells him not to fall in love with her. However, things get complicated when Merival starts developing feelings for his new wife.
Jack & Sarah is a romantic comedy drama film which tells the story of Jack, an attorney, who loses his wife Sarah during childbirth. Since he also has to cope with his demanding career, he feels he won’t be able to raise his infant daughter by himself. Eventually, he decides to hire a nanny, but the woman turns out to be a waitress, and therefore she does not have the necessary experience.
Zach Riley is a psychiatrist who leaves his job at a prestigious university in order to take up a position at a privately run mental institution. However, he is unaware of the fact that this is the very place where his novelist father had spent many years of his life, while he used to battle against chronic depression.
A magic movie ticket transports teenager Danny Madigan into the fictional world of his favorite movie character, the indestructible Los Angeles Cop Jack Slater. When the fictional villain, Mr. Benedict, uses the same ticket to escape into the real world, Danny and Slater must also travel back and team up to stop him.
Stephen Ward regularly employs beautiful young women for his parties to impress his influential friends in the British government. He is so impressed by one of them, an exotic dancer, that he invites her to live with him. Things get extremely complicated when it turns out that she has an affair with Britain’s Minister of War, as well as a spy working for the Soviet Union.
Alfred the Great is a historical war drama film which tells the story of Alfred, who is about to take his priesthood vows, when England is invaded by the Vikings. Therefore, King Æthelred, his brother summons him, and Alfred has no other option but to leave for battle. After his brother passes away, Alfred doesn’t want to accept kingship, but he changes his mind after Britain is again attacked by the Danes.
Priest of Love is a British biographical drama film which tells the story of an author DH Lawrence, whose novel ‘The Rainbow’, attracts huge controversy and gets banned, due to which he is forced to leave his native country England, and go to the US, in order to escape the outrage. He soon writes ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, which becomes his greatest work.
Stella is the wife of psychiatrist Max Raphael who is the superintendent of an asylum located on the outskirts of London. Stella is ignored by Max, and therefore, she feels bored of her life and her marriage. Her life takes a turn when she gets acquainted with a psychotic patient of her husband named Edgar, who had killed his wife out of jealousy. Over some time, she starts having an affair with Edgar, and this eventually destroys her marriage as well as her mental well-being.
The Shadow is a superhero action adventure thriller film which revolves around the Shadow, a superhero, who battles against Shiwan Khan, who is planning to take over the world by holding a city hostage using an atomic bomb.
Nazis are entrusted to guard a Romanian castle, but unwittingly they release a devil that was confined within the walls. Soon, a number of soldiers lose their life in gruesome and mysterious way.
Tristan Thorn is in love with Victoria and in order to marry her promises to bring a fallen star. In the magical kingdom of Stormhold, he discovers that the star is actually a woman named Yvaine and three evil witches and the king’s son are also after her. As he tries to protect her on his way back, he unravels his own true identity.
In a parallel universe where the ruling power detests free thinkers, an unknown group is kidnapping children. An orphan joins a bunch of sailors, on their way to the far North, to look for the missing children. This fantasy adventure is based on the 1995 book Northern Lights.
The life of Roddy, a rat, is just perfect with luxuries all around him. So, when another rat Sid sends him into the sewers of London, it is too much for him to handle. As he struggles to get back to his comfortable life, he meets a scavenger rat Rita. Rita is pursued by Toad who is after her for a gem and also wants to wipe out all rats from the sewer.
When Zeebad, an evil wizard, threatens to start an ice age in their enchanted village, Florence and her group of animal friends set out to find three magic diamonds that would help them stop Zeebad.
Logan leads a hermit's life tormented by visions of Jean Grey and struggling against his prolonged life. Yashida, an industrialist in Japan whose life he had saved, offers to cure his superhuman healing by transferring the ability to himself to cure his cancer. Logan declines the offer, but soon finds out that his wounds are not healing anymore.
Ian McKellen Awards
| Rasputin | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | 1997 |
