honorific_prefix caption website years_active birth_name birth_place honorific_suffix birth_date image article_title name partner occupation alma_mater
sir mckellen at the 2013 san diego comic-con international http://www.mckellen.com/ 1959 -- present ian murray mckellen burnley , lancashire , england , uk uk , ch cbe 25 may 1939 sdcc13 - ian mckellen.jpg ian mckellen
 ian mckellen brian -lrb- 1978 -- 1988 -rrb- taylor -lrb- 1964 -- 1972 -rrb- sean mathias actor st catharine 's college , cambridge
ian mckellen

sir ian murray mckellen , -lrb- born 25 may 1939 -rrb- is an english actor .
he is the recipient of six laurence olivier awards , a tony award , a golden globe award , a screen actors guild award , a bif award , two saturn awards , four drama desk awards and two critics ' choice awards .
he has also received two academy award nominations , four bafta nominations and five emmy award nominations .
mckellen 's work spans genres ranging from shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction .
his film roles include gandalf in `` the lord of the rings '' and `` the hobbit '' trilogies and magneto in the `` x-men '' films .
mckellen was appointed commander of the order of the british empire in 1979 , was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts , and was made a companion of honour for services to drama and to equality , in the 2008 new year honours .
he was made a freeman of the city of london in october 2014 .
