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9 unusual facts about Ian McKellen


1955 Tour

Ian McKellen is the man who will be narrating at the beginning of his show.

Basin Reserve

Players involved in the match included Shane Warne, Stephen Fleming, Tana Umaga, Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, other famous former New Zealand cricketers, current All Blacks Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith and actors Russell Crowe, Ian McKellen.

Carl Bessai

Bessai has made a career working on low-budget independent features but has worked with A-List actors Ian McKellen and Deborah Kara Unger on his film Emile and Carrie-Anne Moss on his film Normal.

Equal Love

Equal Love has had the support of Amnesty International, the Australian Greens and other notable individuals such as Victorian Labor Party Minister for Education Bronwyn Pike, The Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen and Australian Idol finalist Rob Mills.

Mark Ravenhill

His play, The Cut, opened in 2006 at the Donmar Warehouse starring Sir Ian McKellen; it divided critics with its portrait of a world dominated by the administering of a surgical procedure: the country, the year and the procedure are all unspecified.

Nothing Has Been Proved

Along with these come short reels from the film Scandal starring Joanne Whalley, John Hurt, Ian McKellen, Britt Ekland, and Bridget Fonda as well as original news footage from 1963.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

It was adapted by Sillitoe into a 1960 film starring Albert Finney, directed by Karel Reisz, and in 1964 was adapted by David Brett as a play for the Nottingham Playhouse, with Ian McKellen playing one of his first leading roles.

The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling

A 1966 Mirisch Productions World War I war film with the title starring Gregory Peck and Ian McKellen, directed by David Miller with a screenplay by Roald Dahl was abandoned after 5 weeks filming in Switzerland.

The Moon in the Cloud

The novel was adapted for the children's television series Jackanory in 1978, with Ian McKellen as the reader.


ADC Theatre

Many famous actors acted in the theatre at the start of their careers, including Sir Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Hugh Laurie, Hattie Morahan and Tilda Swinton.

Age Concern

The merged charity, now known as Age UK was formed on 1 April 2009, and launched a major branding exercise in April 2010, featuring Brian Cox, Ian McKellen and Eleanor Bron in the charity's first television campaign.

Age UK

Hollywood stars Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox and Ian McKellen appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support the new charity.

Albert Kennedy Trust

On 5 January 2007, Sir Ian McKellen became a patron of the trust, joining existing patrons Julie Hesmondhalgh and Lord Alli.

Bolton Little Theatre

The theatre's Patron is Sir Ian McKellen and this is where this famous British actor started his career shortly after attending Bolton School (Boys Division).

Cat Simmons

Her work includes Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh's Production of Oliver!, Mary Magdalene in Gale Edwards Jesus Christ Superstar, the Young Vic’s sell-out production of Langston Hughes’ Simply Heavenly as Joyce, she starred as the Princess in Aladdin alongside Ian McKellen.

Charlotte Cornwell

She has worked extensively both in the West End and on the Fringe, and has appeared in the US in several productions, including Richard III and An Enemy of the People opposite Sir Ian McKellen, Athol Fugard's The Road to Mecca, Terence McNally's Master Class, Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" (San Francisco Bay Critics' Award), and most recently Alan Bennett's "History Boys" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

Duncan Preston

A renowned Shakespearean actor, Preston has performed in many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Trevor Nunn's acclaimed version of Macbeth (stage 1976, television 1978), starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, as Angus.

Europride

Following the parade, events were held in three of the capital's squares: a rally in Trafalgar Square attended by guest speaker Ian McKellen, and entertainment in Leicester and Soho Squares.

Giles Terera

His first documentary, Muse of Fire, created with Dan Poole, will centre around modern perspectives of Shakespeare and will feature interviews with actors and filmmakers such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Julie Taymor, Fiona Shaw and Baz Luhrmann.

Ginny Dougary

Ginny Dougary was shortlisted as Interviewer of the Year in 2009 and 2010 for her interviews with Benazir Bhutto, Norman Tebbit, and Ian McKellen.

Jean Gilpin

She played the Duchess of Vanholt in "Faustus" with Ian McKellen, directed by John Barton.

Julian Harries

In 2007, Harries toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing The Duke of Albany in their production of King Lear which had Ian McKellen in the title role and Sylvester McCoy as the Fool.

Matt McKenzie

McKenzie has also guest starred in some well known movies (Gods and Monsters with Sir Ian McKellen, in which he portrayed Colin Clive) and TV shows such as Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, JAG, 7th Heaven, That '70s Show, The O.C. and recently 24 as Agent Hollister.

Raymond Llewellyn

Other work includes Mr Pugh in the 1963 BBC Radio version of Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton; 1984-5 in New York/Washington and three weeks in Los Angeles with 'Cyrano' & Much Ado About Nothing starring Derek Jacobi, as well as ten weeks in Los Angeles with the Royal National Theatre Production of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People starring Ian McKellen.

Rick Leed

As an agent, Leed represented several award-winning creative talents, including Aaron Sorkin, Rowan Atkinson and Ian McKellen.


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