Ian McKellen movies in order

In 1965, British actor Sir Ian McKellen starred in the television movie, Sunday Out of Season. The film provided the actor with his first film role, but it was far from his last.

In fact, McKellen would go on to have a very successful career in the movie industry, appearing in films such as Gods and Monsters, X-Men, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, and Avengers: Doomsday, amongst others.

But how familiar are you with Ian McKellen’s movie portfolio? Well, if you’d like to know more then you have come to the right place.

Below you will find a list of all of Ian McKellen’s movies. Beginning in the 1960s and running through the decades, these are the films which make up the McKellen back catalogue.

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1960s, 1970s, and 1980s

As noted above, Ian McKellen kick-started his movie career in the 1965 television film, Sunday Out of Season, where he took on the role of Victor Leech alongside fellow actor Lynn Redgrave. From here he continued appearing in a few films in the ‘60s, such as Alfred the Great and The Promise, before moving into the 1970s with The Tragedy of King Richard II and Edward II.

The ‘70s then made way for the 1980s, and films such as Priest of Love and The Scarlet Pimpernelcame along. As did Michael Mann’s fantasy horror, The Keep, and Michael Caton-Jones’ political drama, Scandal.

Ian McKellen’s movies during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s included:

• Sunday Out of Season (1965)
• A Touch of Love (1969)
• Alfred the Great (1969)
• The Promise (1969)
• The Tragedy of King Richard II (1970)
• Edward II (1970)
• Hamlet (1970)
• A Performance of Macbeth (1979)
• Priest of Love (1981)
• Walter (1982)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
• Walter & June (1983)
• The Keep (1983)
• Plenty (1985)
• Zina (1985)
• Scandal (1989)
• Countdown to War (1989)

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1990s

Moving into the 1990s, and Ian McKellen began to appear in more commercially recognisable movies, including Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger; The Shadow with Alec Baldwin; and Jack & Sarah with Richard E. Grant. In 1995 he starred in Richard III, while in 1998 he took roles in the critically acclaimed Gods and Monsters, as well as an adaptation of the Stephen King novel, Apt Pupil.

Ian McKellen’s movies during the 1990s included:

• Last Action Hero (1993)
• The Ballad of Little Joe (1993)
• And the Band Played On (1993)
• Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
• I’ll Do Anything (1994)
• David Macaulay: Roman City (1994)*
• The Shadow (1994)
• To Die For (1994)*
• Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
• Jack & Sarah (1995)
• Richard III (1995)
• Restoration (1995)
• Rasputin (1996)
• Bent (1997)
• Amy Foster (1997)
• Gods and Monsters (1998)
• Apt Pupil (1998)
• The Book That Wrote Itself (1999)

*Voice role 

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2000s

Sliding into the 2000s and Ian McKellen took on two roles which would propel him into the stratosphere and bring him to the attention of a whole new generation of fans. The first was the role of Erik ‘Magneto’ Lehnsherr in X-Men, while the second was the wizard, Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings.

Both movies would be so well received, that McKellen would go on to reprise the parts for subsequent sequels, including X-Men 2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, as well as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Outside of the above, McKellen provided his voice for animated movies including The Magic Roundabout and Doogal, and he appeared in the Tom Hanks movie, The Da Vinci Code.

Ian McKellen’s movies during the 2000s included:

• X-Men (2000)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• X-Men 2 (2003)
• Emile (2003)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Magic Roundabout (2004)*
• Asylum (2005)
• Neverwas (2005)
• Eighteen (2005)*
• Doogal (2006)*
• The Da Vinci Code (2006)
• X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
• Flushed Away (2006)*
• Displaced (2006)*
• Stardust (2007)*
• The Golden Compass (2007)*
• King Lear (2008)

*Voice role 

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2010s

Over to the 2010s, and Ian McKellen began the decade reprising the role of Gandalf for The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, before appearing briefly as Magneto (via a cameo) in the X-Men spin-off, The Wolverine. Further Hobbit movies followed, as did another X-Men movie, alongside films such as Mr. Holmes, Beauty and the Beast, and Cats.

McKellen’s movies during the 2010s included:

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
• The Wolverine (2013)**
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
• Miss in Her Teens (2014)
• X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
• Mr. Holmes (2015)
• The Dresser (2015)
• National Theatre Live: No Man’s Land (2016)
• Look Back in Anger (2016)
• Beauty and the Beast (2017)
• Animal Crackers (2017)*
• National Theatre Live: King Lear (2018)
• All Is True (2018)
• The Good Liar (2019)
• Cats (2019)

*Voice role 

**Uncredited cameo 

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2020s

And finally, into the 2020s, and Ian McKellen began the decade in Infinitum: Subject Unknown, before appearing in movies such as The Critic and Hamlet. He also reprised the role of Magneto for the comic book movie, Avengers: Doomsday.

Ian McKellen’s movies during the 2020s included:

• Infinitum: Subject Unknown (2021)
• Hamlet Revenant (2022)
• The Critic (2023)
• Hamlet (2024)
• The Christophers (2025)
• Schadenfreude (2026)*
• Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

*voice role 

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In addition to his work in film, Ian McKellen appeared extensively on stage (Waiting for Godot, Othello, etc), as well as on television. His TV work included appearances in The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, David Copperfield, BBC Play of the Month, Jackanory, Armchair Thriller, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Extras, Doctor Who, The Prisoner, Vicious, and a ten-episode stint on legendary British soap, Coronation Street, amongst others.

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Editor/Writer/Thespian

Alex Wiggan

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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the movies of Ian McKellen. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.