Ian McKellen - Milestones

• 2003: Once again played Magneto in "X2"
• 2003: Returned as Gandalf in the final installment of "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
• 2001: Returned to Broadway opposite Helen Mirren in "The Dance of Death"
• 2000: Reunited with Singer for the big-screen version of the Marvel comic "X-Men"; played the villain Magneto
• 1998: Starred in Los Angeles stage production of "An Enemy of the People", translated by Christopher Hampton
• 1998: Played Kurt Dussander, a former concentration camp officer, in Bryan Singer's "Apt Pupil", adapted from the novella by Stephen King
• 1998: Portrayed James Whale, the British expatriate film director of "Frankenstein" and the "Bride of Frankenstein", in "Gods and Monsters"; nominated for a Best Actor Oscar
• 1997: Had an extended cameo as Uncle Freddie in the film version of "Bent"
• 1996: Portrayed Czar Nicholas II of Russia in the HBO film "Rasputin"; garnered second Emmy nomination
• 1995: Played servant to Robert Downey Jr's Robert Merival in "Restoration"
• 1995: Wrote screenplay, executive produced, and starred in "Richard III", directed by Richard Loncraine; moved setting to 1930s Europe
• 1994: Appeared in solo stage play, "A Knight Out" as benefit for Gay Games 1994 and the Stonewall 25 celebrations; subsequently performed piece on tour in the United Kingdom and South Africa, as well as in Brussels and Los Angeles (1994-1997)
• 1993: Had small role in the PBS miniseries "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City"
• 1993: Had cameo role as 'Death' in "The Last Action Hero"
• 1993: Played AIDS activist Bill Kraus in "And the Band Played On" (HBO); earned Emmy nomination
• 1992: Performed "Richard III" at Brooklyn Academy of Music; also toured US cities
• 1991: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts
• 1991: Embarked on world tour alternating as "Richard III" and Kent in "King Lear"
• 1991: Named second Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theater at Oxford University (succeeding composer Stephen Sondheim)
• 1990: Played "Richard III", directed by Richard Eyre at the National Theater; also served as associate producer
• 1989: First film role after "coming out", as John Profumo in "Scandal"
• 1988: Spurred by Section 28, a piece of British legislation passed that prohibited local authorities from promotion of homosexual causes, decided to disclose publicly his homosexuality on a BBC radio program
• 1986: Portrayed a British diplomat in one scene of the screen adaptation of David Hare's "Plenty"
• 1984: Returned to Broadway in short-lived production of "Wild Honey", Michael Frayn's translation of Chekhov's "Ivanov"
• 1983: Appeared under much makeup as an elderly doctor in "The Keep"
• 1983: Reprised "Acting Shakespeare" on Broadway; received Tony nomination
• 1982: Earned acclaim for performance as a mentally challenged man in the made-for-British-television program "Walter", directed by Stephen Frears
• 1982: Undertook the role of the villain Chauvelin in the CBS TV-movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel"
• 1981: "Acting Shakespeare" filmed for TV broadcast; aired in USA in 1982
• 1980: Portrayed novelist D H Lawrence in film biopic "Priest of Love", opposite Janet Suzman
• 1979: Portrayed Max, a gay man who pretends to be Jewish when captured by the Nazis, in "Bent" at the Royal Court Theatre, London
• 1977: Wrote "Acting Shakespeare", a one-person show premiered at the Edinburgh Festival; later toured with piece
• 1976: Had stage triumph as "Macbeth" opposite Judi Dench; reprised role opposite Dench in 1979 TV production
• 1976: First stage collaboration with college chum Trevor Nunn, "Romeo and Juliet", opposite Francesca Annis
• 1974: Returned to American stage as Edgar in "King Lear" performed at Brooklyn Academy of Music
• 1972: Founded and served as a director with Actors' Company
• 1971: First played Hamlet in TV production; aired in USA in 1982
• 1970: Starred in one-person TV production "Keats", based on the life of the Romantic poet John Keats
• 1969: Stage directorial debut, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" at Liverpool Playhouse
• 1969: Played first onscreen homosexual in "A Touch of Love/Thank You All Very Much"
• 1968: First leading role in a feature, reprising stage role in film version of "The Promise"; released only in the United Kingdom to poor reviews
• 1967: Originated role of Leonidik in "The Promise" on London stage opposite Judi Dench; made NYC debut in same role opposite Eileen Atkins
• 1966: Cast in first film role in "The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling", starring Gregory Peck; film never completed
• 1966: US TV debut in serialized version of "David Copperfield"; played title character as an adult
• 1965: Appeared as Claudio in Franco Zeffirelli's staging of "Much Ado About Nothing", starring Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens
• 1965: Co-starred with Lynn Redgrave in British TV production "Sunday Out of Season"
• 1964: London stage debut in "A Scent of Flowers"
• 1964: Made TV acting debut in episode of the British series "Kipling"
• From 1962 to 1963: Spent one season as member of the Ipswich Repertory
• 1961: Professional stage debut in Coventry in production of "A Man for All Seasons"
• 1946: Began staging plays with a toy theater received as a Christmas present
• Raised in Burnley, Wigan and Bolton, England
• As a teenager, spent summers at camp at Stratford-Upon-Avon; attended Shakespearean productions in evenings
• Acted in school plays at Bolton
• Played Salieri in the Broadway production of "Amadeus"; won Tony Award
• Reprised role of Max in revival of "Bent", staged by Sean Mathias
• Portrayed Gandalf in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy filmed back-to-back: "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001); "The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Return of the King" (2003)
• Toured sporadically throughout USA and Europe in "Acting Shakespeare"
• Appeared with the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in "The Seagull", "Present Laughter" and "The Tempest"
• Shakesperean debut in "Coriolanus"
• Joined the cast of Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code" (lensed 2005)