Sir Ian Murray McKellen,
CH,
CBE (born 25 May 1939), is an
English stage and
screen actor, the recipient of the
Tony Award and two
Academy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from
Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular
fantasy and
science fiction. He is known to many for roles such as
Gandalf in the
Lord of the Rings film trilogy and as
Magneto in the
X-Men films.
He was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979, and
knighted in the 1991
New Year Honours for his outstanding work and contributions to the
theatre.
In the 2008 New Year Honours he was made a
Companion of Honour (CH) for services to drama and to equality.
