Quick Facts of

  • First NameIan McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen is one of the most respected and popular actors in the world who is one of the few actors equally prominent as a thespian but is also a superstar movie star. The actor has received multiple awards for his work on both TV and film.

The Academy Award-nominated actor has been the recipient of all the major awards in British theater. Among his multiple popular films is the X-Men franchise, The Lord of The Rings Franchise, etc

How Much Is The Net Worth Of Ian McKellen In 2020?

Ian McKellen has a net worth of around $55 million as of May 2020. He made the bulk of his net worth from a career in acting.

He started out as an actor more than 60 years ago in 1959 and has since become one of the best actors in history.

Earnings And Salary

McKellen is an A-lister and earns a huge salary every year, various online sources have reported that the star earns $9.26 Million per year.

Similarly, he took home $7,750,000 for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and $6,200,000 for his role on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

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Box Office Collections

The thespian is one of the highest-grossing actors in the world. According to the Wikipedia list of highest-grossing actors, his movies have grossed over $10,925,400,596 in total worldwide. The same source reports that he is the 32nd highest-grossing actor in the world.

YearEarningsMovie
2019$75,439,524      Cats
$33,216,217      The Good Liar
$3,017,698        All is True
2017$1,263,521,126Beauty and the Beast
2018$9,491,330        Animal Crackers
2015$28,978,721      Mr. Holmes
2014$945,577,621   The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
$747,862,775   X-Men: Days of Future Past
2013$960,241,522   The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2012$1,017,003,568The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2007$367,262,558   The Golden Compass
$137,022,245   Stardust
2006$7,137Saint of 9/11
$459,260,946   X-Men: The Last Stand
2005$767,820,459   The Da Vinci Code
$28,058,652      Doogal
$547,807           Asylum
2000$27,751,781      Cirque du Soleil – Journey of Man
2005$4,626 Emile
2003$1,120,424,614The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
$406,875,536   X-Men 2
2002$927,598,249   The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2001$887,210,985   The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2000$296,872,367   X-Men
1993$87,282,095      Last Action Hero             

Has Houses And Pubs In London

McKellen has a house in London, United Kingdom, the Lord of the Rings trilogy live in the capital city in a home surrounded by gardens and a lot of other houses. The average price of a house in London is £1,059,010 (1,315,819).

Similarly, he also owns pubs in England including in Limehouse, London. The pub had another famous owner as it was previously a Charles Dickens’ property. The bar is over 500 years old and is a historic landmark.

The pub faced a lot of backlash after it barred around 30 locals that frequented the pub just before Christmas.

Philanthropy, Activism And Charity

McKellen is openly gay and has worked extensively for LGBTQ rights. He even fought the law when they proposed a potential bill to ban local authorities from promoting ‘homosexuality’. The law was enacted and was in place until 2000.

He also co-founded Stonewall, an organization that helps LGBTQ people for their struggles to get equal rights.

Apart from this, he has also worked with various other charities like Mines Advisory Group, National Literacy Trust, Only Make Believe, Step Forward The Make A Difference, Trust Variety Club, Whatever It Takes among others.

The iconic actor also went on a tour doing various stage shows and collected money for charity in January 2020, all in all, he gathered over £4 million ($4,976,540) that he donated to charities.

Long And Decorated Career As An Actor

McKellen has done a lot of work on theater and on film, the star has sometimes done Shakespearean work normally seen on theater on the silver screen. His first role on the big screen came in 1969 when he acted in The Promise.

After a break, he returned to the big screen in 1981 with Priest of Love. He followed up this performance with The Keep in 1983. 

Similarly, he starred on Plenty and Zina in 1985. After a few roles on Richard III, Swept from the Sea, Apt Pupil, etc. he starred in 2000’s X-Men where was the antagonist to Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry among others. 

This started his superstardom as he followed up X-Men (starring alongside longtime friend Sir Patrick Stewart) with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2002 playing the iconic role of Gandalf the White.

In 2003, he starred in two blockbusters with X2 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. After the LOTR trilogy ended, he worked in Eighteen, Neverwas, Asylum, and The Magic Roundabout in the following 2 years.

In similar fashion, 2006 saw him work on The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand. By this time, he had already become an icon especially for fans of sci-fi and fantasy. He reprised his role as Gandalf, this time Gandalf the Grey in 2012 with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The Hobbit trilogy was almost as well-received as the original LOTR series and further cemented his legendary status. He played Gandalf in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Some other popular films of this accomplished thespian are ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Animal Crackers’, etc.

In addition to this revered film career, he also starred as Mel Hutchwright/Lionel Hipkiss on Coronation Street. Later, he also worked on Vicious as Freddie Thornhill.

His theater credits are also the stuff of legend, starting out in 1964 with A Scent of Flowers on stage. Later, Much Ado About Nothing featured him as Claudio. He would go on to star in a lot of epic stage works.

Some of his Shakespearean works have been touted by many as the best performance ever. He has also had his status as one of the biggest theatre stars written on stone after he won every major award there is in British theatre.

Short Biography

Ian McKellen was born Ian Murray McKellen on 25 May 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England to Denis Murray McKellen and Margery Lois Sutcliffe. He was the youngest child of 2 and the only son of his parents.

He went to Bolton school and started acting at the Bolton Little Theatre. Later he went to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

Regarding his relationships, he is possibly single as of May 2020. He dated Brian Taylor in the past for eight years.

The star is very good friends with Sir Patrick Stewart, his c-star from X-Men and friend from way before that. In fact, Sir Ian ordained the September 2013 wedding of Stewart and Sunny Ozel.

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