Ian McKellen to Be Featured in Documentary McKellen: Playing the Part

According to Variety, Tony Award winner Ian McKellen, best known for his roles as Gandalf in the The Lord of the Rings movies and Magneto in the X-Men franchise, will be the subject of the feature documentary, McKellen: Playing the Part.

The film, directed by Joe Stephenson, is framed around an exclusive 14-hour interview with McKellen and will feature archive material from the actor's early stage and screen work, photography from McKellen’s private collection, and cinematically reconstructed scenes from his life.

McKellen made his Broadway debut in 1967 in a brief run of Aleksei Arbuzov's The Promise, returning in 1980 to deliver his Tony-winning performance as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He was last seen on Broadway in 2013, performing No Man's Land and Waiting For Godot in repertory opposite Patrick Stewart, Billy Crudup, and Shuler Hensley. His on-screen career has also earned him two Oscar nominations (for Gods and Monsters in 1999 and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002) and five Emmy nominations.

McKellen: Playing the Part is produced by B Good Picture Company in coproduction with Mark Birmingham of Surreal Film Company. The film is Stephenson’s second theatrical feature, following his acclaimed 2015 drama Chicken.