O'Connor has broken Sir Ian McKellen's life and career into three parts, the first of which covers McKellen's childhood and early theater acting career, including his time at Cambridge. Here we learn of the actor's parents, and his mother's death when McKellen was just a boy. We also learn that McKellen understood he liked men at a young age, even though he felt it was something he had to keep to himself. While McKellen had done some acting before going to Cambridge, it was at university where he not only started to thrive, but also knew exactly what he was going to do with his life. This book's first section contains many stories of McKellen paired with many other, and just as prolific, actors.
The second part of Ian McKellen: A Biography focuses on McKellen's professional career, his time under Sir Laurence Olivier, his very public coming-out-of-the-closet (along with the activism that came along with that pronouncement) and his early film roles. It is during the time covered in this section where McKellen is knighted and, in frustration over never getting chosen for leading roles in movies, decides to adapt his own production of Richard III into a film. Soon afterwards, Director Bryan Singer contacted McKellen about playing Kurt Dussander in an adaptation of Stephen King's Apt Pupil, which then leads to Singer using McKellen to play Magneto in the X-Men movie franchise (well, the older Magneto, that is). While McKellen's screen time starts to increase during this part of his life, Ian still participated in many stage performances and was heavily involved in the gay rights movement in England and abroad, and while his time as Magneto put him in front of many American audiences, it wasn't until he took on the role of Gandalf that he became a household name in America.
Predictably, the final third of Ian McKellen: A Biography focuses heavily on his time during and after playing in Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's works. There are many anecdotes told in this section concerning McKellen and his work as Gandalf, as well as the actor's recognition that while his passion might be for the classic Shakespeare, he regularly toasts that "Gandalf pays." While a major portion of this section talks about McKellen being chosen for the role, his preparation for it and his time on set, it then goes on to talk about his other theater roles, as well as his "bromance" with Sir Patrick Stewart, including their performance in Waiting for Godot. This section of the book also delves into his production of King Lear and the many trials and tribulations that accompanied that show.
O'Connor goes into a lot of detail in his biography of Ian McKellen, and while my review might seem to glaze over many major events in the actor's life, O'Connor's telling goes into much more depth concerning pretty much any aspect of McKellen's history. McKellen's time at Cambridge is thoroughly documented, as well as his activity fighting for gay rights, several of his relationships and many of his theater performances. I do have to say, from the perspective of someone who is not a theater buff, there is a lot more to McKellen's story than I expected, but I am definitely one of those Americans who didn't pay much attention to McKellen before he donned the Master of Magnetism's helmet and cape. For any fan of the stage, the details about the various actors and directors that McKellen worked with is bound to be a lot more captivating than I found it. Regardless of what your particular interest is in the life of Sir Ian McKellen, this book will give you an unabashed view of his life and achievements.
