The actor Ian McKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire in 1939. Since the 1970s he has performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre. He has received seven Laurence Olivier awards, a Tony, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award. His screen credits include Richard III, Gods and Monsters, The Lord of the Rings and the X-Men franchise. In 2019 he celebrated his 80th birthday with an 80-date tour of his one-man show Ian McKellen on Stage. This summer he will play Hamlet at the Edinburgh fringe with the Edinburgh Festival Ballet Company, 2-28 August, at Ashton Hall, Saint Stephen’s.
