Sir Ian McKellen, in his role as Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” in 2001, earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 2002 Academy Awards. Although he did not win (losing to Jim Broadbent, for his performance in the film “Iris”), he is the only actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for a performance in any of the three motion pictures in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
McKellen had previously been nominated for Best Actor for his 1998 role in “Gods and Monsters” and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 for “outstanding contributions to the performing arts.”