According to an interview, one of the last things Margaret Thatcher did as Prime Minister was recommending him for a knighthood.
Appears in "The Lord of the Rings" and "X-Men", both of which required a lead character to be recast soon after production started. In "The Lord of the Rings", Stuart Townsend was replaced by Viggo Mortensen, and in X-Men (2000), Dougray Scott was replaced by Hugh Jackman.
Before performing the role of Gandalf, he listened to a recording of J.R.R. Tolkien reading Gandalf lines from the novel. He used this as a base for creating the character, and imitated the accent used by Tolkien in the recording.
Began acting as a means of escape from mourning after his mother's death and constant bullying at school from fellow students.
Close friends with Rachel Weisz.
Graduated with a 2:2 in English from Cambridge University.
Hadn't read either The Golden Compass (aka. Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman, or any of the "Lord of the Rings" books by J.R.R. Tolkien before he was cast in the movie adaptations.
Has appeared with Bruce Davison in four different films: Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Apt Pupil (1998), X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003). The first of these is the only one not directed by Bryan Singer.
Has played both a Holocaust victim (X-Men (2000)) and a Nazi (Apt Pupil (1998), both in movies directed by Bryan Singer.
Has played cult characters in two of the biggest franchises; he played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men series.
Has worked with two Faramirs. Prior to appearing in The Lord of the Rings films with David Wenham, he appeared in the film Plenty (1985), with Andrew Seear. Seear played Faramir in the BBC radio adaptation, opposite Ian Holm.
He had a tattoo of the Elvish character for 9 along with all the other members of the fellowship in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
He played the vampire in the video for "Heart" by Pet Shop Boys.
He said that appeal of the X-Men films to him was the concept of mutants being shunned, something he says he identifies with as he was repeatedly shunned as an open homosexual.
He used the phrase "old friend" in both the X-Men and The Lord of the Rings film series. In both cases (to Christopher Lee as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings and Patrick Stewart as Xavier in X-Men) it is said to an ally who has become a nemesis and "old friend" is said mockingly.
He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 for his services to drama.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1985 (1984 season) for Best Actor in a Revival for "Wild Honey".
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1991 (1990 season) for Best Actor in "Richard III" at the Royal National Theatre.
He was awarded the 1984 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Coriolanus".
He was awarded the 1989 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "Othello".