Ian McKellen (b. 1939)
Filed under the name Ian · June 17, 2026
Ian McKellen has played two of the most recognizable characters in modern movies, Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Magneto in the X-Men films, and it tickles me that both of them are, in their own ways, older men that younger people look to for guidance, even when Magneto's guidance is a little more complicated than Gandalf's. My grandkids got me to sit through one of those Lord of the Rings movies a few Christmases back, and I'll admit I dozed off twice, but I did notice how much weight McKellen carried in that role just standing still and talking, no flash needed. There's something to be said for an actor who's spent a whole career proving that age and gravity read as strength on screen rather than something to be minimized or covered up. I've got seventy-four years on me now, and I don't mind saying I appreciate a public figure demonstrating that getting older doesn't mean getting smaller in the world's eyes. Some parts, apparently, only an older face and voice can really fill.