Ian McKellen

Born: 25 May 1939
Where: Burnley, England
Awards: Won 1 Golden Globe, nominated for 2 Oscars, 4 BAFTAs and 2 Emmys
Height: 5' 11"
Last Seen in: X-Men 2
Filmography: Complete List

Richard Attenborough once described the difficulty he had in casting one minor role in his epic A Bridge Too Far. He needed someone who could be driven through the desolate aftermath of battle and express the full horror and sadness of war - without saying anything. The director said there was only one man who could do it, so they hired him. He was, of course, Laurence Olivier. Similarly, when Peter Jackson was looking to cast Gandalf in his $200 million Lord Of The Rings trilogy, who had the requisite power? Who had the ability to convey such strength, such profound goodness, such otherworldly wisdom? Who could carry the biggest movie ever made? He turned, like Attenborough before him, to the finest actor of them all, a man known for 30 years as the Olivier of his generation - Ian McKellen.

Ian Murray McKellen was born on the 25th of May, 1939, in the general hospital of Burnley, Lancashire. His father, Denis Murray, was a civil engineer, while his mother, Margery Lois (nee Sutcliffe), looked after Ian and Jean, five years Ian's senior. When Ian was but a few weeks old, just before WW2 broke out, the family moved to Wigan. With the Nazis bombing the industrial north of England, Ian would sleep underneath a supposedly bomb-proof iron table in the dining-room. The Germans never came close, but disease nearly got him - at the age of three he managed to survive diphtheria. It's possible this dangerous throat infection changed his voice forever, thereby contributing to his glittering career.

The family lived in a 4-bedroom semi opposite Mesnes Park and backing onto the cricket ground. Wigan's economy was based on coal mining. The dust would often coat any washing left out to dry. But the family were far from poor - Ian recalls in 1949 celebrating his dad breaking through the ?000 per annum barrier. Young Ian attended nursery school at the Dicconson Street Wesleyan Primary School. On Sunday mornings, he worshipped at the Hope Street Congregational Church while, in the afternoons, there was Sunday School. But Ian's early life was not some fundamentalist nightmare. His father played the piano (directly beneath Ian's room), and the family encouraged all of Ian's artistic leanings. They'd regularly visit Wigan's half-dozen cinemas, and watch the performances of Frank H. Fortescue's weekly repertory company.

Ian fell in love with the theatre early. His first experience was being taken to see Peter Pan at Manchester Opera House, at age 3. At 7, he was given a fold-up Victorian theatre made of wood and Bakelite. He remembers manipulating cut-out figures from Olivier's Hamlet with wires, providing all the voices - for Olivier, Jean Simmons et al. His first Shakespeare play had been Twelfth Night, when Jean (McKellan, not Simmons) took him to a show by the amateurs of Wigan's Little Theatre. He also saw Jean herself play Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Wigan High School For Girls. Yet McKellen says his main early influence were the peddlers down at Wigan's Saturday Market, flogging lucky Indian charms, cure-all snake-oils from darkest Africa and flash gadgets from the capital. These were the first performers Ian witnessed at close range, these charming con-artists lit the artistic flame of Britain's finest actor.

At 11, Ian moved up to Wigan Grammar School for Boys, but stayed only a year. In 1951, Denis became Borough Engineer and Surveyor of Bolton, and there the family moved. This brought young Ian even closer to theatre life. He spent a lot of time at Bolton's Grand Theatre, watching the variety shows, the tap-dancers, the jugglers, the bad comics - all for free as his dad knew the theatre owner - and hanging around backstage. He loved the glamour of it all, even at this low level. Indeed, throughout his career, no matter how successful he became, Ian would always return to tiny venues and ensemble casts. The notion of intimate performances for "ordinary" people is clearly important to him.

Ian had always acted at school, whenever he could. But at Bolton School (Boys' Division) opportunities were more regular. There were school plays, performed in the main hall, where Ian learned the vital trick of being audible over "800 bottoms shifting on 800 rush-bottomed chairs". There was also the Hopefield Miniature Theatre, a converted Edwardian house where both teachers and pupils would rehearse French playlets, snippets of Greek tragedy, puppet shows, whatever - performing before 50 or so parents once a term. Here McKellen began to learn technique, and made his debut, as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. And he gained confidence. Once he was told by his Classics master that he had grease paint flowing in his veins.
-http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/ian_mckellen_biog.html