Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen Profile Photo

Characters played by Ian McKellen

Gandalf — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Wise wizard who guides the Free Peoples against Sauron's forces.

Gandalf — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Wizard mentor guiding heroes against Sauron's forces across Middle-earth.

Gandalf the Grey — The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Wise wizard guiding dwarves and hobbits against dark forces.

Gandalf — The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The resurrected White Wizard, leading the final war against Sauron with unmatched wisdom.

Gandalf the Grey — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

A wise and powerful wizard who guides Middle-earth's free peoples against rising darkness.

Cogsworth — Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Strict, rule-following clock who manages the castle's operations and worries about the curse.

Gandalf the Grey — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Wise wizard guiding the quest against dark forces, pivotal in Middle-earth's fate.

Magneto — X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Powerful mutant master of magnetism and frequent X-Men adversary.

Gus, the Theatre Cat — Cats (2019)

An aged theatrical cat who recounts his illustrious history of performing major roles on stage.

The Toad — Flushed Away (2006)

The main antagonist ruling Ratropolis. Haunted by childhood trauma after being flushed by Prince Charles, he obsessively hates rodents and plots to flood the city to exterminate them.

Sir Leigh Teabing — The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Wealthy historian secretly manipulating events.

Iorek Byrnison — The Golden Compass (2007)

Iorek Byrnison is an exiled, armoured bear and former prince of the Ice Bears. After Lyra and Farder Coram help him recover his armour, he joins the rescue journey, defeats Ragnar in single combat, reclaims the throne, and later helps Lyra and the children defeat the Tartar guards.

Career Overview

Ian McKellen has 206 screen credits in a career dating back to 1944. Their work spans 11 cinematic universes — most prominently Middle-earth (Tolkien) with 6 titles. Signature works include The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Explore the interactive character relationship maps on each title page to trace how their roles connect across franchises.

Personal Facts

Known For
Acting
Gender
male
Known Credits
206
Birth Date
1939-05-25
Birth Place
Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK

Known For

Associated Universes

Universe traveler — spans 11 universes

Frequent Collaborators

Credits

Content sources

Related entry on Wikidata (Q170510), public domain (CC0).