Acting Awards, Honours, and Appointments
Ian McKellen has earned more than sixty major international acting awards including a Tony Award for Amadeus, four Olivier Awards (for Pillars of the Community, Bent, Wild Honey, and Richard III), the Screen Actors Guild Award for Fellowship of The Ring, a Cable ACE Award for And the Band Played On... , and a Golden Globe Award for Rasputin.
His portrayal of James Whale in Bill Condon's film Gods and Monsters received honours from around the world, including nominations for the Academy Award (Oscar), Screen Actors Guild Award, the Golden Satellite, and the Golden Globe. In 1999 he was named "Best Actor" by the National Board of Review, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Critics Association, Toronto Film Critics, Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Online Film Critics Society, the British Independent Film Awards, and many others.
The Screen Actors Guild Award
10 March 2002
Photo by Reuters/Fred Greaves
His portrayal of the wizard Gandalf the Grey in Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring received accolades from critics and filmgoers worldwide, including his second nomination for the Academy Award.
In 2007, McKellen was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on EXTRAS! In 2009, he received another Emmy nomination for the television version of King Lear.
Other Highlights
McKellen's performances in King Lear and as Chekov's The Wood Demon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1974 brought him a Drama Desk Award.
McKellen was honored with an Olivier Award for his performance as Max in the world premiere of Martin Sherman's riveting and ground-breaking play Bent. He then won the Tony, Drama Desk, New York Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his portrayal of Salieri in the Broadway production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.
In 1982 he was voted The Royal Television Society's Performer of the Year for his portrayal of the mentally-handicapped hero of Stephen Frears' Walter, the film that launched Britain's Channel 4.
He won his third Drama Desk Award when he took his one-man show, Acting Shakespeare, to New York in 1983.
After winning the London Critics' Award and the London Evening Standard Award for Iago in Trevor Nunn's Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1989, he produced and starred in the Royal National Theatre's world tour of Richard III, which had its 300th performance in Los Angeles, and won the SWET Award.
In 1991, McKellen was knighted by the Queen for his services to the performing arts, and he succeeded Stephen Sondheim as Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University.
McKellen has been nominated four times for the Emmy (Rasputin, And the Band Played On, EXTRAS!, and King Lear), and three times for the BAFTA (Richard III, Fellowship of The Ring, Return of The King).
In 2003, Variety named McKellen "UK Personality of the Year."
In 2006 he was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, and a Special Award from the Society of London Theatre for his achievements.
Iin 2007, Queen Elizabeth II named McKellen a Companion of Honour for his “outstanding achievements as an actor and also for his work in championing the causes of diversity”.
In 2009 he was given lifetime achievement awards at San Sebastian Film Festival and the Evening Standard Awards.
In 2014 McKellen received an honorary degree from his alma mater Cambridge University.
In 2019 McKellen became the first actor to top The Stage 100 list of most influential people in British theatre.
Acting Awards:
| 1964 | Clarence Derwent Award (A Scent of Flowers) |
| 1966 | Plays & Players' Most Promising Actor |
| 1974 | New York Drama Desk Award (King Lear/The Wood Demon) |
| 1976 | Plays & Players' London Theatre Critics' Award for Best Actor (Macbeth) |
| 1977 | Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award for Comedy Performance of the Year (The Alchemist) |
| 1978 | Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award for Best Actor of the Year (Pillars of the Community) |
| 1979 | Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award for Best Actor of the Year (Bent) |
| 1980 | NY Drama Desk Award (Amadeus)
NY Drama League Delia Austrian Medal for Most Distinguished Performance by an Actor or Actress on the Broadway Stage (Amadeus) Outer Critics' Circle Award (Amadeus) Tony for Best Actor (Amadeus) |
| 1982 | Royal Television Society Performer of the Year (Walter) |
| 1983 | NY Drama Desk Award (Acting Shakespeare)
Plays & Players' Award (Acting Shakespeare) Drama-logue (LA Critics) Award (Acting Shakespeare) |
| 1984 | SWET Award for Best Actor in a Revival (Wild Honey)
Peabody Award for Broadcasting (Shakespeare Birthday Programme) |
| 1985 | London Evening Standard Award - Best Actor (Coriolanus) |
| 1988 | The Elliot Norton Ward (Acting Shakespeare) |
| 1988 | Peabody Broadcasting Award (Speaking for Everyman: Ian McKellen celebrates Shakespeare's Birthday) |
| 1989 | London Evening Standard Award - Best Actor (Othello)
London Critics' Circle Drama Theatre Award for Best Actor of 1989 (Othello) |
| 1992 | Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award for Best Actor of the Year (Richard III) |
| 1993 | Cable Ace Best Supporting Actor (And The Band Played On) |
| 1993 | GLAAD Media Award |
| 1996 | Golden Globe® Award Best
Supporting Actor (Rasputin)
Emmy Nomination Best Supporting Actor (Rasputin) |
| 1996 | Felix Awards — European Actor of the Year (Richard III) |
| 1996 | Golden Quill: the Sir John Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts, presented by the Shakespeare Guild at the Folger Library, Washington, D.C., 20 May 1996. |
| 1997 | Audie Award for Best Solo Performance 1997 (The Odyssey) |
| 1998 | Lifetime Achievement Ovation Award, Theatre LA |
| 1998 - 1999 | Numerous awards for
Gods and Monsters and
Apt Pupil,
including: Best Actor - The Independent Spirit Award Best Actor - National Board of Review Best Actor - Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor - British Independent Film Awards Best Actor - Uruguyan Film Critics Association Best Actor - Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor - Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actor - Florida Film Critics Circle Best Actor - San Diego Film Critics Society Best Actor - Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actor - Online Film Critics Society Best Actor - Online Motion Picture Academy Best Actor - International Film Festival San Sebastian Best Actor - Film in Noir, Italy Best Actor - The Saturn Award Best Actor - The Chlotrudis Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Screen Actors Guild Nomination as Best Actor - Drama - The Golden Globe® Award Nomination as Best Actor - The Academy Award (Oscar) |
| 1999 | Barclay's Theatre Award - Best Supporting Performance (The Seagull) |
| 2002 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting
Role - Screen Actors Guild (The
Fellowship of the Ring) Nomination as Best Supporting Actor - The Academy Award (Oscar) (The Fellowship of the Ring) |
| 2003 | Variety UK Personality of the Year |
| 2003 | London Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Arts |
| 2003-2004 | For
The Return of the King:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast - Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble - Broadcast Film Critics Award Best Acting by Ensemble - National Board of Review Best Ensemble - Online Film Critics Association |
| 2006 | M.E.N. Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Visiting Production (The Cut) |
| 2006 | Master of the Craft Award: Movieline's Hollywood Life Young Hollywood Awards |
| 2007 | Annie Animation Award for Best Feature Voice Acting (Flushed Away) |
| 2007 | Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, EXTRAS! |
| 2008 | Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actor, King Lear |
| 2009 | Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Actor, King Lear |