Ian McKellen is an actor and activist who has received over 60 major international awards for his performances on screen, stage and television.

Oscar-nominated for Gods and Monsters, he is renowned to film audiences as Magneto in the X Men movies and the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies (his second Oscar nomination). His next film is The Christophers directed by Stephen Soderbergh and he is currently reprising Magneto at Pinewood Studios. His most recent stage performance was as Sir John Falstaff in Player Kings.

He has been an eloquent advocate for gay rights since he came out in 1988 and co-founded Stonewall, the charity which lobbies for legal and social equality for LGBT people. He was knighted in 1988 and in 2007, appointed Companion of Honour ‘for services to Drama and Equality’.