Question 1

True or false: He voiced the character of Cogsworth in Disney’s live-action 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Accepted Answer

True. McKellen provided the voice for the enchanted clock Cogsworth in the 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

Question 2

True or false: He co-founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s.

Accepted Answer

False. The Royal Shakespeare Company was founded in 1960 by Peter Hall, not McKellen. McKellen joined later as a leading actor.

Question 3

True or false: In 1979, McKellen was awarded an OBE for his services to theatre.

Accepted Answer

True. He was appointed OBE in 1979, later upgraded to a knighthood in 1991, reflecting his major contributions to British theatre.

Question 4

True or false: Ian McKellen once turned down a knighthood because of his political beliefs.

Accepted Answer

False. McKellen accepted his knighthood in 1991 for services to the performing arts, though he is a vocal activist for LGBTQ+ rights.

Question 5

True or false: He once played Hamlet in a production that included live horses on stage.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1971, McKellen starred in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet that famously featured live horses on a revolving stage.

Question 6

True or false: McKellen was a close friend of author J.R.R. Tolkien and discussed Gandalf with him.

Accepted Answer

False. Tolkien died in 1973, decades before McKellen was cast as Gandalf. They never met, though McKellen studied Tolkien’s work.

Question 7

True or false: Ian McKellen worked as a gravedigger before his acting career took off.

Accepted Answer

True. In his early years, McKellen took a summer job as a gravedigger in a cemetery in Lancashire to earn money.

Question 8

True or false: He has never performed in a musical on stage or screen.

Accepted Answer

False. McKellen sang and danced in the 2000 stage production of 'The Lion King' as Scar, and in the film 'The Hobbit' as Gandalf.

Ian McKellen Trivia Questions