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Ian McKellen

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ian McKellen

McKellen in 2019
Born
Ian Murray McKellen

(1939-05-25) 25 May 1939 (age 85)[1]
EducationSt Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active1958–present
Partners
Websitemckellen.com

Sir Ian Murray McKellen CH CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has had a Tony Award and two Oscar nominations.

McKellen was born on 25 May 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire. In 1939, he moved to Wigan. In 1951, he moved to Bolton.

His work has spanned genres from serious Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction movies.

In a television movie role in 1970 titled Edward II, he and his co-star, James Laurenson kissed in British television's first gay kiss.[2]

Best known for his roles as Gandalf in the 2001-2003 Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, as Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, and as Magneto in the X-Men series of movies. He appeared in The Hobbit movie series.

He is openly gay and is a prominent activist for the rights of LGBT people. He said that the reason why he took the role in the X-Men movies was because of his sexuality.[3] He said: "Mutants are like gays. They’re cast out by society for no good reason".[3]

He was made a CBE in 1979 and knighted in 1990 for his outstanding work and contributions to the theatre. In 2008 he was made a Companion of Honour.

McKellen said in 2012 that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006.[4]

McKellen once signed an autograph to a fan stating "Fuck off, I’m gay." The person given the autograph was politician Michael Howard.[5]

References

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  1. "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1208. 25 May 2012. p. 21.
  2. "Video: Sir Ian McKellen on Edward II and British TV's first gay kiss". BFI.org. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sieczkowski, Cavan (27 February 2014). "Ian McKellen Took 'X-Men' Role Because Of Gay Rights Parallel". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  4. Meredith, Charlotte (11 December 2012). "Ian McKellen is battling prostate cancer". Daily Express.
  5. "10 things we didn't know this time last week". BBC. 14 November 2003. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007.

Other websites

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