2027
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
as Gandalf
2026
The Christophers
as Julian Sklar
2026
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
as Jacob Marley
2026
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
as L S Lowry
2025
Schadenfreude
as Continuity Announcer
2025
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
Dragged Through Time
2025
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
as Self (archive footage)
2025
Billy & Dom Eat the World
as Self
(1 episode)
2024
The Critic
as Jimmy Erskine
2024
Hamlet
as Hamlet
2024
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
as Self
2024
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024
Dragfox
as Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
2024
ted
as Narrator (voice)
(3 episodes)
2023
The One Note Man
as Narrator (voice)
2022
Hamlet Within
2022
Quintessentially British
as Self
2022
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
as Self
2021
Hating Peter Tatchell
as Self
2021
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
as Dr. Charles Marland-White
2021
Great British Theatre
2021
Amol Rajan Interviews
as Self - Interviewed Guest
(1 episode)
2020
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020
Reunited Apart
as Self
(1 episode)
2019
The Good Liar
as Roy Courtnay
2019
Cats
as Gus, the Theatre Cat
2019
On Broadway
as Self
2018
Animal Crackers
as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
2018
McKellen: Playing the Part
as Self
2018
National Theatre Live: King Lear
as King Lear
2018
All Is True
as Earl of Southampton
2017
Beauty and the Beast
as Cogsworth
2017
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
as Self
2017
The Paul O'Grady Story
as Self
2017
Edmund the Magnificent
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2017
How a Kite Flies
as Mr. Kite (voice)
2016
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
as Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Self - Performer
2016
The Roof
as And Even Yet Another Fan
2016
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
as Self
2016
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
as Spooner
2016
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
2016
Shakespeare on Film
2016
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
2015
Mr. Holmes
as Sherlock Holmes
2015
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
as Self (archive footage)
2015
The Dresser
as Norman
2015
Mutant vs. Machine: The Making of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
as Self
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self
(1 episode)
2014
X-Men: Days of Future Past
as Magneto
2014
Miss in Her Teens
as The Prologue
2014
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
as Self
2014
Trailblazer Honors
as Self - Speaker
(1 episode)
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self
(1 episode)
2013
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
as Gandalf the Grey
2013
Muse of Fire
as Self
2013
The Wolverine
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
2013
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
as Self
2013
The Egg Trick
as Magician
2013
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
as Self
2013
Vicious
as Freddie Thornhill
(12 episodes)
2012
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
as Gandalf the Grey
2012
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
as Self
2012
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
as The Great Intelligence (voice)
2011
Looking for Lowry
as Self
2011
The Betty Driver Story
as Self
2011
Perspectives
2010
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
as Narrator (voice)
2010
Small-Time Revolutionary
as Hamish Miller (voice)
2009
Theatreland
as Self
2009
The Prisoner
as 2 / Curtis
(6 episodes)
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2008
King Lear
as King Lear
2007
The Golden Compass
as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
2007
Stardust
as Narrator (voice)
2007
For the Love of God
as The Jackdaw
2007
The Art of Breaking Character
as Self
2007
Guerrilla Distribution
as Self
2007
The Graham Norton Show
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2007
The Graham Norton Show
as Self
(9 episodes)
2006
The Da Vinci Code
as Sir Leigh Teabing
2006
Flushed Away
as The Toad (voice)
2006
Doogal
as Zebedee (voice)
2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
2006
Saint of 9/11
as Narrator
2006
The One Show
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2005
Neverwas
as Gabriel Finch
2005
Asylum
as Dr. Peter Cleave
2005
The Magic Roundabout
as Zebedee (voice)
2005
The Hobart Shakespeareans
as Self
2005
Eighteen
as Jason Anders (voice)
2005
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
as Self
2005
Extras
as Ian McKellen
(1 episode)
2004
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
as Self
2004
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
as Self
2004
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
as Self
2004
My First Time
as Narrator
2004
The Paul O'Grady Show
2004
Who Do You Think You Are?
as Self
(1 episode)
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Gandalf
2003
Emile
as Emile
2003
X2
as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
2003
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
as Self
2003
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
as Self
2003
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
as Self
2003
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
as Self
2003
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self
(1 episode)
2003
Churchill
as Self - Narrator (voice)
(3 episodes)
2003
Real Time with Bill Maher
as Self
(2 episodes)
2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
as Gandalf
2002
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
as Self
(1 episode)
2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
as Gandalf
2001
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
as Narrator (voice)
2001
Quest for the Ring
as Self
2001
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
as Self
2001
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
as Self
2000
X-Men
as Magneto
2000
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
as Narrator (voice)
2000
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
as Self
2000
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
as Self - 'Magneto'
1999
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
as Self
1999
After Stonewall
as Self
1999
David Copperfield
as Creakle
(2 episodes)
1999
Family Guy
as Dr. Cecil Pritchfield (voice)
(1 episode)
1998
Gods and Monsters
as James Whale
1998
Swept from the Sea
as Dr. James Kennedy
1998
Apt Pupil
as Kurt Dussander
1998
Parkinson
as Self
(3 episodes)
1997
Bent
as Uncle Freddie
1997
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
A Bit Of Scarlet
as Narrator
1997
The View
as Self - Guest
(2 episodes)
1997
HARDtalk
1996
An Evening with Lily Savage
as Self
1996
Rasputin
as Tsar Nicholas II
1995
Jack & Sarah
as William
1995
Richard III
as Richard III
1995
Cold Comfort Farm
as Amos Starkadder
1995
Restoration
as Will Gates
1994
The Shadow
as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
1994
To Die For
as Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
1994
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
as Self
1994
I'll Do Anything
as John Earl McAlpine
1994
David Macaulay: Roman City
as Augustus Caesar (voice)
1994
Age of Dissent
as Self
1994
Inside the Actors Studio
as Self
(1 episode)
1994
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
as Self
(1 episode)
1993
And the Band Played On
as Bill Kraus
1993
Six Degrees of Separation
as Geoffrey
1993
Last Action Hero
as Death
1993
The Ballad of Little Jo
as Percy Corcoran
1993
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
as Narration (voice)
1993
Camp Christmas
1993
Tales of the City
as Archibald Anson Gidde
(2 episodes)
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
1993
Late Show with David Letterman
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
1992
Gladio
as Aldo Moro (voice)
1990
Othello
as Iago
1990
Have I Got News for You
as Self
(1 episode)
1989
Scandal
as John Profumo
1989
Countdown to War
as Adolf Hitler
1989
The Simpsons
as Ian McKellen (voice)
(1 episode)
1988
Scarfe's Follies
1988
Windmills of the Gods
as Chairman
(2 episodes)
1987
Süleyman the Magnificent
as Narrator
1985
Plenty
as Sir Andrew Charleson
1985
Zina
as Kronfeld
1984
Playing Shakespeare
1983
The Keep
as Dr. Theodore Cuza
1983
Walter and June
as Walter
1982
The Scarlet Pimpernel
as Chauvelin
1982
Walter
as Walter
1982
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1981
Priest of Love
as D.H. Lawrence
1981
Pillar of Fire
as Narrator
(20 episodes)
1980
Dying Day
as Antony Skipling
1979
Macbeth
as Macbeth
1979
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
as Alexander Ivanov
1978
Armchair Thriller
as Anthony Skipling
(60 episodes)
1978
An Audience with...
as Self
(1 episode)
1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
(1 episode)
1974
Graceless Go I
as Tony
1974
Playhouse
as Alexander
(1 episode)
1972
Hedda Gabler
as George Tesman
1972
Craven Arms
as David Masterman
1972
Country Matters
as David Masterman
(1 episode)
1970
Hamlet
as Hamlet
1970
Edward II
as King Edward
1970
The Tragedy of King Richard II
as King Richard II
1969
Alfred the Great
as Roger
1969
A Touch of Love
as George
1969
The Promise
1969
Sesame Street
as Self
(1 episode)
1967
Omnibus
as Self - Reading Poetry
(1 episode)
1966
David Copperfield
as David Copperfield
(9 episodes)
1965
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
as Wolf
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Captain Plume
(1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Simon Bliss
(1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Ross / T.E. Lawrence
(1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as George Tesman
(1 episode)
1964
The Wednesday Play
as Wolf
(1 episode)
1960
Coronation Street
as Mel Hutchwright
(13 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner
(1 episode)
1953
The Oscars
as Self
(3 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter
(1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Winner
(1 episode)
—
Richard II
as Richard II
—
Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
as Self
—
No Man's Land
as Spooner
—
Frank and Percy
as Percy
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library
Not in library