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Ian McKellen

actor
Born: 5/25/1939
Birthplace: Burnley, England

Knighted in 1990, McKellen is one of the century's finest Shakespearean actors. In addition to his prodigious stage career (including roles as Richard II and Hamlet and a Tony Award for Amadeus, 1981), McKellen has appeared in several films, most memorably in the lead roles of Scandal (1989) and Richard III (1996), a Shakespearean drama set in a 1930s fascist state. He is slated to play the good wizard Gandalf in the upcoming Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003). A gay rights activist, McKellen acted in the TV movie about the AIDS crisis, And the Band Played On (1993).

Dorothy McGuire

Leo McKern

More on Ian McKellen from Infoplease:

Ian McKellen - Biography of Ian McKellen, Gandalf in the film Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Director: Peter Jackson Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa ...
Famous Shakespearean Actors - From John Barrymore to Emma Thompson
Gods and Monsters - Starring Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich
Gandalf - Biography of Gandalf, Hero of The Lord of the Rings

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The knight's crusade: playing the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings may make Sir Ian McKellen the world's best-known gay man. And he's armed and ready to carry the fight for equality along with him. (Cover Story). (The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine))

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