
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| McKellen: Playing the Part | 2016 | Documentary filming | |
| It Got Better | 2016 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The Eurovision Song Contest | 2016 | TV Special | Freddie Thornhill |
| Shakespeare Live! From the RSC | 2016 | TV Movie | Himself - Performer |
| Cinemaniacs | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| Tavis Smiley | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| Variety Studio: Actors on Actors | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| Larry King Now | 2015 | TV Series | |
| Today | 2005-2015 | TV Series | Himself - Guest / Himself |
| The Talk | 2015 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! NOW! | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| Shakespeare in Practice: Muse of Fire | 2015 | Documentary | Himself |
| Sunday Morning Live | 2015 | TV Series | Himself - Interviewee |
| Muslim Drag Queens | 2015 | TV Movie documentary | Narrator |
| Made in Hollywood | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Late Late Show with James Corden | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| The View | 2002-2015 | TV Series | Himself - Guest / Himself |
| Mutant vs. Machine: The Making of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' | 2015 | Video documentary | Himself |
| X-Men: Unguarded | 2015 | Video short | Himself |
| Live with Kelly and Michael | 2014-2015 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Guest |
| Talk Stoop with Cat Greenleaf | 2014-2015 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Guest |
| Red Nose Day | 2015 | TV Special | Himself |
| The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies - New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth - Part 3 | 2015 | Video short | Himself |
| Great Canal Journeys | 2015 | TV Series | Himself - Actor and Friend |
| Shakespeare Uncovered | 2015 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz | 2015 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Middle-earth: There and Back Again | 2014 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Graham Norton Show | 2014 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Tennis: World Tour Finals | 2014 | TV Series | Himself - Spectator |
| Double Take: Xavier & Magneto | 2014 | Video documentary | Himself |
| X-Men: Reunited | 2014 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Nelson Mandela Redrawn | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| The British Soap Awards 2014 | 2014 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best British Soap |
| The Paul O'Grady Show | 2005-2014 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Fantástico | 2014 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Glad All Over: The Dave Clark Five and Beyond | 2014 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| I Am the Flame | 2014 | Documentary short | Narrator |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers | 2014 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Road to Rome | 2014 | Documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| Late Show with David Letterman | 1999-2013 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Guest |
| Legacy X: Wolverine and the X-men | 2013 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Broadway.com Show | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Daily Show | 1999-2013 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Charlie Rose | 1996-2013 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| An Unexpected Party: Bag End | 2013 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Arena | 1993-2013 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| CBS News Sunday Morning | 2013 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Guest |
| Muse of Fire | 2013 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Jonathan Ross Show | 2013 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The EE British Academy Film Awards | 2013 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| The Hollywood Fast Lane | 2013 | TV Series | Himself - Interviewee |
| Up Close with Carrie Keagan | 2012 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Colbert Report | 2012 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Loose Women | 2010-2012 | TV Series | Himself |
| Pride of Britain Awards | 2012 | TV Special | Himself |
| British Legends of Stage and Screen | 2012 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Great West End Theatres | 2012 | Documentary | Himself |
| Breakfast | 2001-2011 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Betty Driver Story | 2011 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (as Sir Ian McKellan) |
| The People Speak UK | 2010 | Documentary | Himself |
| Alan Davies' Teenage Revolution | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards | 2010 | TV Special | Himself - Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (credit only) |
| The 7PM Project | 2010 | TV Series | Himself |
| The South Bank Show Revisited | 2010 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The One Show | 2008-2010 | TV Series | Himself |
| Live from Studio Five | 2010 | TV Series | Himself |
| A Six Hour Film Shot in 92 Days: The Diary of 'The Prisoner' | 2010 | Video short | Himself (as Sir Ian McKellen) |
| Beautiful Prison: The World of 'The Prisoner' | 2010 | Video short | Himself (as Sir Ian McKellen) |
| The Man Behind '2' | 2010 | Video short | Himself (as Sir Ian McKellen) |
| First Light Awards 2010 | 2010 | TV Special | Himself |
| The South Bank Show | 1979-2010 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The Variety Club Showbiz Awards 2009 | 2009 | TV Special | Himself - Bernard Delfonte Outstanding Contribution to Showbusiness Awardee (as Sir Ian McKellen) |
| Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | 2009 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Cinema 3 | 2009 | TV Series | Himself |
| Premio Donostia a Ian McKellen | 2009 | TV Special | Himself - Honoree |
| The Orange British Academy Film Awards | 2009 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| What's on Theatre | 2008 | TV Series | Himself |
| Sunday AM | 2007-2008 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Friday Night Project | 2008 | TV Series | Himself |
| Brit Awards 2008 | 2008 | TV Special | Himself |
| The Orange British Academy Film Awards | 2008 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Presenter |
| Parkinson | 2003-2007 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | 2007 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! | 2007 | TV Movie | Himself - Audience Member (uncredited) |
| Mornings with Kerri-Anne | 2007 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Orange British Academy Film Awards | 2007 | TV Special | Himself |
| Cubism: Pet Shop Boys in Concert - Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City | 2007 | Video | Himself - Interval Announcer (voice) |
| Guerrilla Distribution | 2007 | Video | Himself |
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year | 2006 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Da Vinci Code: Close-Up on the Mona Lisa | 2006 | Video short | Himself |
| The Da Vinci Code: Filmmaker's Journey | 2006 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The Da Vinci Code: The Da Vinci Sets | 2006 | Video short | Himself |
| The Da Vinci Code: Unusual Suspects | 2006 | Video short | Himself |
| A Conversation with Sir Ian | 2006 | Documentary short | Himself |
| The Secret Policeman's Ball | 2006 | TV Movie | Himself (voice) |
| HBO First Look | 2003-2006 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| X-Men: Evolution of a Trilogy | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| X-Men: The Excitement Continues | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Young Hollywood Awards | 2006 | TV Special | Himself |
| Richard & Judy | 2002-2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Corazón de... | 2006 | TV Series | Himself |
| This Morning | 2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | 2003-2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Last Call with Carson Daly | 2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Real Time with Bill Maher | 2004-2006 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Saint of 9/11 | 2006 | Documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| The Bigger Picture | 2006 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Hobart Shakespeareans | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Magical Voices | 2005 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Magic of Music | 2005 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The British Soap Awards 2005 | 2005 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| Du kommst nicht vorbei - Fans im Bann des Ringes | 2005 | Video short | Himself |
| Ringers: Lord of the Fans | 2005 | Documentary | Himself |
| A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Cameras in Middle-Earth | 2004 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Costume Design | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Designing Middle-Earth | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| Home of the Horse Lords | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| The Passing of an Age | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Olympic Torch Concert Live | 2004 | TV Special | Himself (uncredited) |
| Peter Tatchell: Just Who Does He Think He Is? | 2004 | Documentary | Himself |
| The 76th Annual Academy Awards | 2004 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' Film Clip |
| The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| HARDtalk | 2004 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Orange British Academy Film Awards | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | 1999-2003 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Quest Fulfilled | 2003 | TV Special documentary short | Himself |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | 1992-2003 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Paula Zahn Now | 2003 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| 4Pop | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Frids film | 2003 | TV Series | Himself |
| Filmland | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| National Geographic: Beyond the Movie - The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| E! News Live | 2003 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making 'X2' | 2003 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The Simpsons | 2003 | TV Series | Himself |
| Designing Middle-Earth | 2003 | Video documentary | Himself - Gandalf |
| The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| Tussen de sterren | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Have I Got News for You | 2003 | TV Series | Himself |
| Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | 2003 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Uncanny Suspects | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| X-Factor: The Look of 'X-Men' | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| X-Men: Ellis Island Premiere | 2003 | Video short | Himself |
| X-Men: Premieres Around the World | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| X-Men Production Scrapbook | 2003 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Making the Movie | 2002 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
| Return to Middle Earth | 2002 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' | 2002 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Inside the Actors Studio | 2002 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| A Day in the Life of a Hobbit | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Cameras in Middle-Earth | 2002 | Video documentary | Himself - Gandalf |
| Costume Design | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| Designing Middle-Earth | 2002 | Video documentary short | Gandalf |
| From Book to Script | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| J.R.R. Tolkien: Creator of Middle-Earth | 2002 | Video documentary short | Gandalf |
| Scale | 2002 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The Fellowship of the Cast | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| The Road Goes Ever On... | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| Weta Workshop | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Gandalf |
| Two Wizards | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The 74th Annual Academy Awards | 2002 | TV Special | Himself - Nominee: Best Actor in a Supporting Role & Co-Presenter: Cirque du Soleil's Performance |
| + de cinéma | 2002 | TV Series documentary short | Himself |
| Saturday Night Live | 2002 | TV Series | Himself - Host / Various / Dame Maggie Smith / ... |
| 8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2002 | TV Special | Himself |
| In the Life | 2002 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Politically Incorrect | 2002 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Orange British Academy Film Awards | 2002 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 2002 | TV Special documentary | Himself - Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film |
| Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute | 2002 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (as Sir Ian McKellen) |
| Houghton Mifflin Welcomes You to Middle-Earth | 2001 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| National Geographic Explorer | 2001 | TV Series documentary | Himself / Gandalf the Grey |
| Troldspejlet | 2001 | TV Series | Himself |
| A Passage to Middle-earth: The Making of 'Lord of the Rings' | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Quest for the Ring | 2001 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
| Larry and Vivien: The Oliviers in Love | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed! | 2000 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| X-Men: Behind the Scenes | 2000 | Video short | Himself |
| 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | 2000 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale | 1999 | Video documentary short | Himself - Actor ("Gods and Monsters") |
| The Book That Wrote Itself | 1999 | | Himself |
| The 71st Annual Academy Awards | 1999 | TV Special | Himself - Nominee: Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 5th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | 1999 | TV Special | Himself |
| The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 1999 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Nominee: Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama |
| Blankety Blank | 1998 | TV Series | Himself |
| Face to Face | 1998 | TV Series | Himself |
| Light Lunch | 1997 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Sunday Programme | 1996-1997 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Newspaper Reviewer |
| An Audience with Elton John | 1997 | TV Special | Himself (uncredited) |
| Surviving Friendly Fire | 1997 | Documentary | Himself (voice) |
| A Bit of Scarlet | 1997 | Documentary | Narrator |
| Heroes of Comedy | 1997 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 1997 | TV Special | Himself - Winner: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV |
| Great Composers | 1997 | TV Series documentary | Tchaikovsky |
| An Evening with Lily Savage | 1996 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The 49th Bafta Awards | 1996 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best Director |
| TFI Friday | 1996 | TV Series | Himself - Special Guest |
| Thin Ice | 1995 | | Himself |
| The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | 1994 | TV Special | Himself - Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special |
| David Macaulay: Roman City | 1994 | TV Movie documentary | Augustus Caesaar (voice) |
| Out There | 1993 | TV Special | Himself |
| Camp Christmas | 1993 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The 46th Annual Tony Awards | 1992 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter: Best Revival |
| Anglia at War | 1992 | TV Series documentary | Narrator |
| Commitment to Life IV: Los Angeles AIDS Project Benefit | 1990 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The London Programme | 1989 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The Media Show | 1989 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Evening Standard Drama Awards | 1988 | TV Special | Himself |
| Forty Minutes | 1988 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Süleyman the Magnificent | 1988 | Documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| Call My Bluff | 1979-1984 | TV Series | Himself |
| Playing Shakespeare | 1982 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare | 1982 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The 35th Annual Tony Awards | 1981 | TV Special | Himself - Winner: Best Actor in a Play |
| Amud Ha'Esh | 1981 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Narrator (English Version) |
| BBC Show of the Week | 1972 | TV Series | Himself |
| Omnibus | 1969 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Reading Poetry |
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