12 March 1946 Ian McKellen has been an eloquent advocate for gay rights since he came out in 1988. The following year, he was knighted for his contribution to the performing arts. His legendary performances as Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II stormed the 1969 Edinburgh Festival and were televised. In pursuit of the ideal theatre ensemble, he was a founder-member of the Actors' Company. As leading man for the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played Macbeth (opposite Dame Judi Dench), Romeo, Iago, and Toby Belch, and leading roles in plays by Brecht, Chekhov, Ibsen, Jonson, Shaw, and Stoppard. He has regularly starred at the National Theatre, most recently in Peter Pan. McKellen also works regularly on stage in the U.S.A. In New York, he won every available award for his Salieri in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus; more recently, he starred in Dance of Death and hosted Saturday Night Live. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2005. Ian McKellen has been honored with more than 40 international awards for his performances on screen and stage, most recently a Lifetime Achievement Golden Bear from 2006 Berlin Film Festival. He was born and raised in the industrial north of England and started acting professionally in 1961. After Cambridge University and a three-year apprenticeship with British regional theater companies, he rapidly established himself as the leading actor of his generation in Shakespeare and other classical plays in London.