Ian McKellen
Born May 25, 1939 (Age: 86)
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Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Biography
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Emmy Awards. McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned five Olivier Awards for his roles in Pillars of the Community (1977), The Alchemist (1978), Bent (1979), Wild Honey (1984), and Richard III (1995). McKellen made his Broadway debut in The Promise (1965). He received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1980). He was further nominated for Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1984). He returned to Broadway in Wild Honey(1986), Dance of Death (1990), No Man's Land (2013), and Waiting for Godot (2013), the latter two being a joint production with Patrick Stewart. McKellen achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III(1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies. Other notable film roles include A Touch of Love (1969), Plenty (1985), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Restoration (1995), Flushed Away (2006), Mr. Holmes (2015), and The Good Liar (2019). McKellen came out as gay in 1988, and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian McKellen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Emmy Awards.
McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned five Olivier Awards for his roles in Pillars of the Community (1977), The Alchemist (1978), Bent (1979), Wild Honey (1984), and Richard III (1995). McKellen made his Broadway debut in The Promise (1965). He received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1980). He was further nominated for Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare (1984). He returned to Broadway in Wild Honey(1986), Dance of Death (1990), No Man's Land (2013), and Waiting for Godot (2013), the latter two being a joint production with Patrick Stewart.
McKellen achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III(1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies. Other notable film roles include A Touch of Love (1969), Plenty (1985), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Restoration (1995), Flushed Away (2006), Mr. Holmes (2015), and The Good Liar (2019).
McKellen came out as gay in 1988, and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian McKellen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Filmography
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Untitled Anthony Hopkins Documentary
Unknown
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as Self
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2027
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as Gandalf
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Age: 88
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Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
2026
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as Jacob Marley
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Age: 87
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
2026
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as L S Lowry
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Age: 86
The Critic
2024
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as Jimmy Erskine
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Age: 85
Cats
2019
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as Gus, the Theatre Cat
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Age: 80
The Good Liar
2019
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as Roy Courtnay
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Age: 80
All Is True
2018
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as Earl of Southampton
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Age: 79
Animal Crackers
2018
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as Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
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Age: 79
Beauty and the Beast
2017
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as Cogsworth
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Age: 77
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Shakespeare on Film
2016
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as
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Age: 77
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Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
2016
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as
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Age: 77
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Play the Devil: Making Richard III
2016
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as
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Age: 77
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
2015
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 76
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Mutant vs. Machine: The Making of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
2015
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as Self
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Age: 76
Mr. Holmes
2015
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as Sherlock Holmes
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Age: 76
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
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as Gandalf the Grey
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Age: 75
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014
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as Magneto
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Age: 74
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
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as Gandalf the Grey
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Age: 74
The Wolverine
2013
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as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
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Age: 74
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
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as Gandalf the Grey
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Age: 73
The Betty Driver Story
2011
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as Self
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Age: 71
Small-Time Revolutionary
2010
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as Hamish Miller (voice)
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Age: 71
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
2010
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 71
Theatreland
2009
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as Self
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Age: 69
The Golden Compass
2007
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as Iorek Byrnison (voice)
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Age: 68
Stardust
2007
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 68
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The Art of Breaking Character
2007
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as Self
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Age: 67
Guerrilla Distribution
2007
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as Self
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Age: 67
Flushed Away
2006
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as The Toad (voice)
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Age: 67
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
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as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
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Age: 66
The Da Vinci Code
2006
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as Sir Leigh Teabing
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Age: 66
Doogal
2006
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as Zebedee (voice)
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Age: 66
Neverwas
2005
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as Gabriel Finch
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Age: 66
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005
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as Self
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Age: 66
The Magic Roundabout
2005
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as Zebedee (voice)
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Age: 65
The Appendices, Part Five: The War of the Ring
2004
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as Self
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Age: 65
The Appendices, Part Six: The Passing of an Age
2004
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as Self
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Age: 65
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
2004
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as Self
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Age: 65
My First Time
2004
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as Narrator
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Age: 65
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004
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as Self
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Age: 65
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
2004
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as Self
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Age: 64
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004
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as
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Age: 64
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
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as Gandalf
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Age: 64
X2
2003
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as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
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Age: 63
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
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as Gandalf
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Age: 63
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
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as Gandalf
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Age: 62
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 62
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
2000
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as Self
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Age: 61
X-Men
2000
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as Magneto
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Age: 61
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000
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as Self - 'Magneto'
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Age: 61
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 60
Apt Pupil
1998
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as Kurt Dussander
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Age: 59
Gods and Monsters
1998
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as James Whale
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Age: 59
Swept from the Sea
1998
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as Dr. James Kennedy
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Age: 58
Bent
1997
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as Uncle Freddie
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Age: 58
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
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as
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Age: 58
A Bit Of Scarlet
1997
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as Narrator
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Age: 58
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996
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as Self
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Age: 57
Rasputin
1996
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as Tsar Nicholas II
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Age: 56
Restoration
1995
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as Will Gates
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Age: 56
Richard III
1995
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as Richard III
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Age: 56
Jack & Sarah
1995
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as William
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Age: 56
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
1994
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as Self
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Age: 55
The Shadow
1994
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as Dr. Reinhardt Lane
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Age: 55
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994
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as Augustus Caesar (voice)
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Age: 54
Camp Christmas
1993
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as
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Age: 54
Six Degrees of Separation
1993
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as Geoffrey
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Age: 54
And the Band Played On
1993
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as Bill Kraus
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Age: 54
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993
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as Percy Corcoran
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Age: 54
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
1993
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as Narration (voice)
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Age: 54
Last Action Hero
1993
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as Death
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Age: 54
Gladio
1992
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as Aldo Moro (voice)
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Age: 53
Othello
1990
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as Iago
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Age: 51
Countdown to War
1989
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as Adolf Hitler
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Age: 49
Scandal
1989
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as John Profumo
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Age: 49
Scarfe's Follies
1988
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as
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Age: 48
Süleyman the Magnificent
1987
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as Narrator
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Age: 47
Zina
1985
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as Kronfeld
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Age: 46
Plenty
1985
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as Sir Andrew Charleson
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Age: 46
The Keep
1983
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as Dr. Theodore Cuza
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Age: 44
Priest of Love
1981
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as D.H. Lawrence
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Age: 42
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Dying Day
1980
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as Antony Skipling
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Age: 40
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Graceless Go I
1974
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as Tony
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Age: 35
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Hedda Gabler
1972
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as George Tesman
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Age: 33
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Craven Arms
1972
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as David Masterman
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Age: 33
Hamlet
1970
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as Hamlet
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Age: 31
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970
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as King Richard II
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Age: 31
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The Promise
1969
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as
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Age: 30
Alfred the Great
1969
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as Roger
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Age: 30
A Touch of Love
1969
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as George
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Age: 30
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
1965
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as Wolf
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Age: 26