Ian McKellen, the film industry's knight in shining armour

People expect delightful things from Ian McKellen, the English stage and screen great. He saw his first payday at age three, stepped onto his first stage at six and, since his professional debut in 1961 at age 22, has never been out of work.

One of his generation’s stellar classical actors, he played Shakespeare’s key heroes and villains, was knighted for his service to the arts by Queen Elizabeth in 1991 and then began flourishing on film. His roles as Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and Magneto in the X-Men movies made him a global icon.