Head to headChristopher Lee against Ian McKellen Both careers by TMDB ratingChristopher LeeIan McKellen
Tale of the tape as an actor
Christopher Lee vs Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen averages 6.52 across 43 rated films as an actor, ahead of Christopher Lee at 6.10.
- 173 (130 rated)
- Films acted
- 52 (43 rated)
- 6.10
- Average
- 6.52▶
- 6.24
- Weighted
- 6.69▶
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 8.4
- Best film
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 8.5▶
- 7.51, 1998 to 2002
- Peak five
- 7.89, 2000 to 2003▶
- 5 films
- Longest 7+ run
- 5 films
- ◀6.73 (+0.63)
- Current form
- 5.73 (−0.79)
- 221K
- TMDB votes
- 246K▶
- 1948 to 2024
- Career
- 1969 to 2026
- None
- Oscars
- 0 wins, 2 noms▶
- $8.63B
- Box office
- $11.4B▶
Rows won
1 to 7
Ian McKellen ahead
Films together
5
averaging 7.54
Dot size shows audience votes. Films below the source vote floor sit on the baseline.
 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 2001 | 8.4 | as Saruman | as Gandalf |
 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2002 | 8.4 | as Saruman | as Gandalf |
 The Golden Compass | 2007 | 6.1 | as First High Councilor | as Iorek Byrnison (voice) |
 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 2012 | 7.4 | as Saruman the White | as Gandalf the Grey |
 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | 2014 | 7.3 | as Saruman the White | as Gandalf the Grey |