Actor Rankings

Best Ian McKellen Movies Ranked

Explore the best Ian McKellen movies ranked by Movie Rankings users. The current top-ranked movie here is The Da Vinci Code. Browse 13 ranked acting credits, then jump into the full filmography and each movie page.

Top Ranked Ian McKellen Movies

Ian McKellen Top Ranked Movies (13)

What is the best Ian McKellen movie?

The Da Vinci Code is currently the highest-ranked Ian McKellen movie on Movie Rankings based on aggregate head-to-head results from the community.

How many Ian McKellen movies are ranked here?

This page currently tracks 13 ranked movies starring Ian McKellen.

How often do Ian McKellen rankings update?

These rankings refresh whenever Movie Rankings recomputes global results. This page was last generated from site data on May 4, 2026.

Explore More Rankings

Best Robert Langdon Collection Movies

See where The Da Vinci Code lands inside the ranked Robert Langdon Collection.

Best Imagine Entertainment Movies

Browse more top-ranked movies associated with Imagine Entertainment.

Best The Lord of the Rings Collection Movies

See where The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers lands inside the ranked The Lord of the Rings Collection.

Best New Line Cinema Movies

Browse more top-ranked movies associated with New Line Cinema.

Best Adventure Movies on Max

See how The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers compares with other top-ranked adventure movies we currently surface on Max.

Best Fantasy Movies on Max

See how The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers compares with other top-ranked fantasy movies we currently surface on Max.

Best Action Movies on Max

See how The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers compares with other top-ranked action movies we currently surface on Max.

Best Movies on Max

See how The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers compares with other top-ranked movies we currently surface on Max.

Best The Hobbit Collection Movies

See where The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies lands inside the ranked The Hobbit Collection.

Best X-Men Collection Movies

See where X-Men: The Last Stand lands inside the ranked X-Men Collection.

Best The Donners' Company Movies

Browse more top-ranked movies associated with The Donners' Company.

Best Adventure Movies on Disney+

See how X-Men: The Last Stand compares with other top-ranked adventure movies we currently surface on Disney+.

Best Action Movies on Disney+

See how X-Men: The Last Stand compares with other top-ranked action movies we currently surface on Disney+.

Best Science Fiction Movies on Disney+

See how X-Men: The Last Stand compares with other top-ranked science fiction movies we currently surface on Disney+.

Best Thriller Movies on Disney+

See how X-Men: The Last Stand compares with other top-ranked thriller movies we currently surface on Disney+.

Best Movies on Disney+

See how X-Men: The Last Stand compares with other top-ranked movies we currently surface on Disney+.

Sources & freshness

Last refreshed from site data on May 4, 2026.

TMDB biography data

Biography, portrait, department, and filmography metadata sourced from TMDB.

Movie Rankings comparisons

Community comparison results and ranked credits sourced from Movie Rankings users.

Ian McKellen Acting Filmography (157)

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2027·Gandalf
The Christophers
2026·Julian Sklar
Avengers: Doomsday
2026·Magneto
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
2026·Jacob Marley
LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes
2026·L S Lowry
Schadenfreude
2025·Continuity Announcer
Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness
2025
Dragged Through Time
2025
A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep'
2025·Self (archive footage)
The Critic
2024·Jimmy Erskine
Hamlet
2024·Hamlet
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
2024·Self
The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved
2024
Dragfox
2024·Ginger Snap the Fox (Speaking) (voice)
The One Note Man
2023·Narrator (voice)
Hamlet Within
2022
Quintessentially British
2022·Self
Freedom: 50 Years of Pride
2022·Self
Hating Peter Tatchell
2021·Self
Infinitum: Subject Unknown
2021·Dr. Charles Marland-White
Ian McKellen on Stage: With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU
2020
Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
2020
The Good Liar
2019·Roy Courtnay
Cats
2019·Gus, the Theatre Cat
On Broadway
2019·Self
Animal Crackers
2018·Horatio P. Huntington (voice)
McKellen: Playing the Part
2018·Self
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2018·King Lear
All Is True
2018·Earl of Southampton
Beauty and the Beast
2017·Cogsworth
#3580W-2L
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
2017·Self
The Paul O'Grady Story
2017·Self
Edmund the Magnificent
2017·Self - Narrator (voice)
How a Kite Flies
2017·Mr. Kite (voice)
All the World's a Screen: Shakespeare on Film
2016·Prospero's Speech Reader (voice)
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016·Self - Performer
The Roof
2016·And Even Yet Another Fan
Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
2016·Self
National Theatre Live: No Man's Land
2016·Spooner
Shakespeare on Stage, Screen and Elsewhere with Ian McKellen
2016
Shakespeare on Film
2016
Play the Devil: Making Richard III
2016
Mr. Holmes
2015·Sherlock Holmes
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
2015·Self (archive footage)
The Dresser
2015·Norman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014·Gandalf the Grey
#1243W-2L
X-Men: Days of Future Past
2014·Magneto
#3501W-3L
Miss in Her Teens
2014·The Prologue
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
2014·Self
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013·Gandalf the Grey
#3201W-2L
Muse of Fire
2013·Self
The Wolverine
2013·Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (uncredited)
#4550W-4L
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
2013·Self
The Egg Trick
2013·Magician
The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013·Self
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012·Gandalf the Grey
#2382W-2L
London 2012: Paralympics Opening Ceremony
2012·Self
Doctor Who: The Snowmen
2012·The Great Intelligence (voice)
Looking for Lowry
2011·Self
The Betty Driver Story
2011·Self
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
2010·Narrator (voice)
Small-Time Revolutionary
2010·Hamish Miller (voice)
Theatreland
2009·Self
King Lear
2008·King Lear
The Golden Compass
2007·Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Stardust
2007·Narrator (voice)
For the Love of God
2007·The Jackdaw
The Art of Breaking Character
2007·Self
Guerrilla Distribution
2007·Self
The Da Vinci Code
2006·Sir Leigh Teabing
#283W-0L
Flushed Away
2006·The Toad (voice)
Doogal
2006·Zebedee (voice)
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006·Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
#2081W-1L
Saint of 9/11
2006·Narrator
Neverwas
2005·Gabriel Finch
Asylum
2005·Dr. Peter Cleave
The Magic Roundabout
2005·Zebedee (voice)
The Hobart Shakespeareans
2005·Self
Eighteen
2005·Jason Anders (voice)
Ringers: Lord of the Fans
2005·Self
Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is?
2004
A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King'
2004·Self
Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!
2004·Self
The Making of 'The Return of the King'
2004·Self
My First Time
2004·Narrator
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003·Gandalf
#1288W-5L
Emile
2003·Emile
X2
2003·Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
#2502W-2L
Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King
2003·Self
Evolution X - The Making of X-Men
2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
2003·Self
X-Men: Premieres Around the World
2003·Self
The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision
2003·Self
The Making of 'The Two Towers'
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002·Gandalf
#4511W-2L
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001·Gandalf
#10412W-7L
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001·Narrator (voice)
Quest for the Ring
2001·Self
Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings'
2001·Self
Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001·Self
X-Men
2000·Magneto
#2642W-2L
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man
2000·Narrator (voice)
Now You See Him: 'The Invisible Man' Revealed!
2000·Self
X-Men: The Mutant Watch
2000·Self - 'Magneto'
The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale
1999·Self
After Stonewall
1999·Self
Gods and Monsters
1998·James Whale
Swept from the Sea
1998·Dr. James Kennedy
Apt Pupil
1998·Kurt Dussander
Bent
1997·Uncle Freddie
Surviving Friendly Fire
1997
A Bit Of Scarlet
1997·Narrator
An Evening with Lily Savage
1996·Self
Rasputin
1996·Tsar Nicholas II
Jack & Sarah
1995·William
Richard III
1995·Richard III
Cold Comfort Farm
1995·Amos Starkadder
Restoration
1995·Will Gates
The Shadow
1994·Dr. Reinhardt Lane
To Die For
1994·Quilt Documentary Narrator (voice)
Stonewall 25: Global Voices of Pride and Protest
1994·Self
I'll Do Anything
1994·John Earl McAlpine
David Macaulay: Roman City
1994·Augustus Caesar (voice)
Age of Dissent
1994·Self
And the Band Played On
1993·Bill Kraus
Six Degrees of Separation
1993·Geoffrey
Last Action Hero
1993·Death
The Ballad of Little Jo
1993·Percy Corcoran
Armistead Maupin Is a Man I Dreamt Up
1993·Narration (voice)
Camp Christmas
1993
Gladio
1992·Aldo Moro (voice)
Othello
1990·Iago
Scandal
1989·John Profumo
Countdown to War
1989·Adolf Hitler
Scarfe's Follies
1988
Süleyman the Magnificent
1987·Narrator
Plenty
1985·Sir Andrew Charleson
Zina
1985·Kronfeld
The Keep
1983·Dr. Theodore Cuza
Walter and June
1983·Walter
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1982·Chauvelin
Walter
1982·Walter
Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare
1982
Priest of Love
1981·D.H. Lawrence
Dying Day
1980·Antony Skipling
Macbeth
1979·Macbeth
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
1979·Alexander Ivanov
Graceless Go I
1974·Tony
Hedda Gabler
1972·George Tesman
Craven Arms
1972·David Masterman
Hamlet
1970·Hamlet
Edward II
1970·King Edward
The Tragedy of King Richard II
1970·King Richard II
Alfred the Great
1969·Roger
A Touch of Love
1969·George
The Promise
1969
The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne
1965·Wolf