Ian McKellen Fansite

In recent years, Ian McKellen has come to be identified primarily with two roles (among younger crowds, anyway). One we’ve talked about before, in the form of Magneto. That was, without doubt, a very hostile role.

So today we look instead to slightly happier role, that of Ian McKellen as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of series. Gandalf is one of the series’ central characters, and the story wouldn’t be the same without him.

Also known as Gandalf the Grey or Mithrandir, Gandalf is a wizard. He’s often the trigger that sets off the events of the books and the movies; from his first visit with Bilbo in The Hobbit to his announcement that Frodo must take the ring to the elves in The Fellowship of the Ring, he’s the guy you go to if you need direction in your life. He’ll gladly tell you what to do.

And McKellen plays him as such in all three movies. His impressive acting skills make a normally wizened old man into an impressive figure, a man to be respected and feared. Yet he’s also an infinitely kind man, and can change from a raging fury to gentle happiness in the span of a second. He’s a little flippant, sometimes, but McKellen’s good enough that Gandalf never comes off as a lunatic.

McKellen appeared in all three Lord of the Rings movies, and if the accolades for his role are any indication (he received an Academy Award nomination for the part) he’ll be back in the upcoming Hobbit movies.