Line #29 Creator/IanMcKellen


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3	%%Per Administrivia/CreatorPageGuidelines, only tropes associated to a creator's works are allowed on this wiki's pages, and tropes that only apply to the creator's personal life as if the creator is a fictional character are not allowed. Please do not apply tropes about the creator's personal life as if they are a fictional character.
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6	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mckellen_982.gif]]
7	->''"Acting is a very personal process. It has to do with expressing your own personality, and discovering the character you're playing through your own experience - so we're all different."''
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9	Sir Ian Murray [=McKellen=] [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CH, CBE]] (born 25 May 1939 in Burnley, England) is a [[ShakespearianActors Shakespearean actor]], widely known for his roles as Gandalf in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy and ''Film/TheHobbit'', ''and'' Magneto in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', as well as the title character in his 1995 SettingUpdate adaptation of Shakespeare's ''Film/RichardIII''. He also lent his voice to [[Film/TheGoldenCompass a certain polar bear]], and the Great Intelligence in the 2012 ''Series/DoctorWho'' ChristmasSpecial. He starred with Creator/DerekJacobi in a series called ''Series/{{Vicious}}'', a gay DomCom about [[GrowOldWithMe a long-partnered male couple]].
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11	He's also openly gay and an ardent supporter of gay rights. He came out to the public in a 1988 BBC radio interview when the British government was in the process of passing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28 Section 28]], a law that effectively prohibited schools from even mentioning homosexuality in any sort of context to students (it was in force from 1988 to 2003). He notes that, although he'd been out to family, friends, and coworkers, coming out to the general public was such a liberating experience that he gained access to a new level of emotion and he could add more depth to his acting.
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13	He's also authorized to perform marriages, as he officiated the September 2013 wedding of his friend Creator/PatrickStewart to Sunny Ozell.
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16	!!Filmography:
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18	!!!Film
19	* 1983 ''Film/TheKeep'' as Dr. Theodore Cuza
20	* 1993 ''Film/LastActionHero'' as [[Film/TheSeventhSeal Death]]
21	* 1993 ''Theatre/SixDegreesOfSeparation'' as Geoffrey
22	* 1994 ''Film/TheShadow'' as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
23	* 1995 ''Film/{{Restoration\|1995}}'' as Will Gates
24	* 1995 ''Film/RichardIII'' as Richard III
25	* 1996 ''[[UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk Rasputin]]'' as Czar Nicholas II
26	* 1998 ''Film/GodsAndMonsters'' as Creator/JamesWhale
27	* 1998 ''Film/AptPupil'' as Kurt Dussander
28	* ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' film series as [[ComicBook/{{Magneto}} Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto]]
29	** 2000 ''Film/XMen1''
30	** 2002 ''Film/X2XMenUnited''
31	** 2006 ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''
32	** 2013 ''Film/TheWolverine''
33	** 2014 ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''
34	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Film/TheHobbit'' as Gandalf
35	** 2001 ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing''
36	** 2002 ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers''
37	** 2003 ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''
38	** 2012 ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney''
39	** 2013 ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug''
40	** 2014 ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies''
41	* 2005 ''Film/{{Neverwas}}'' as Gabriel Finch
42	* 2006 ''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' as Sir Leigh Teabing
43	* 2006 ''WesternAnimation/FlushedAway'' as The Toad (voice)
44	* 2007 ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'' as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
45	* 2015 ''Film/MrHolmes'' as Franchise/SherlockHolmes
46	* 2017 ''Film/{{Beauty and the Beast\|2017}}'' as Cogsworth
47	* 2017 ''WesternAnimation/{{Animal Crackers\|2017}}'' as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
48	* 2019 ''Film/{{Cats}}'' as Gus the Theater Cat
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50	!!!Television
51	* 1979 ''Theatre/{{MacBeth}}'' (televised stage production) as {{MacBeth}}
52	* 2003 ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E4TheReginaMonologues "The Regina Monologues"]] AsHimself
53	* 2006 ''Series/{{Extras}}'' as [[AsHimself Ian McKellen]]
54	* 2009 ''Series/ThePrisoner2009'' as 2
55	* 2012 ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]] as the Great Intelligence (voice)
56	* 2013+ ''Series/{{Vicious}}'' as Freddie Thornhill
57	* 2024 ''Series/{{Ted\|2024}}'' as the Narrator
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60	!!Tropes associated with his work:
61	* ActorAllusion: His appearance on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' had constant references to his role in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
62	* EnforcedMethodActing: He hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive,'' and in one sketch played Dame Creator/MaggieSmith, being interviewed on Weekend Update. At one point he asked Creator/JimmyFallon, "Kiss for luck?" Fallon leaned over, clearly expecting a peck on the cheek. Ian grabbed him and gave him an open-mouthed smooch right on the lips, leaving Fallon visibly stunned.
63	* LargeHam: Like any self-respecting legend of the stage, he can ''really'' bring the ham when called upon. Just check him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhEL0ioJwKQ#t=1m58s giving instructions on]] [[MundaneMadeAwesome changing a flat tire]].
64	* MetaCasting: In ''Film/GodsAndMonsters'', he played Creator/JamesWhale, the director of ''Film/{{Frankenstein\|1931}}'' and ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'', who was [[QueerCharacterQueerActor homosexual]] like [=McKellen=].
65	* RunningGag: He is often invited to speak at schools and universities. Every time, he makes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZf0Q-v3u-k this joke]] in reference to a certain scene from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
66	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
67	** He was considered to play Commander Swanbeck in ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', but turned it down due to starring in a play in London.
68	** Alongside Creator/DerekJacobi, he was considered to voice Frollo in ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney''.
69	** Alongside Creator/PatrickStewart, Creator/TimCurry and Creator/ChristopherLloyd, he was considered to voice Jafar in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
70	** He was offered the role of [[Film/HarryPotter Dumbledore]] after Creator/RichardHarris had died, but turned it down. Allegedly, this was because the two actors did not get along and [=McKellen=] stated "I couldn’t take over the part from an actor I know didn’t approve of me."
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Context Creator / IanMcKellen