Ian McKellen plays Sir Leigh Teabing, the Grail historian, in the 2006 film The Da Vinci Code.
The film adapts Dan Brown’s 2003 novel and follows symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder and a series of religious clues. Teabing is an eccentric British scholar who has devoted himself to theories about the Holy Grail and the alleged history of Mary Magdalene.
McKellen’s character becomes an important source of exposition, explaining the film’s disputed interpretation of the Grail as a symbolic bloodline rather than simply a cup. The movie presents these ideas as part of its fictional conspiracy narrative; they are not established historical conclusions.
Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou plays Sophie Neveu, and Paul Bettany plays the monk Silas. The film was directed by Ron Howard and was released internationally in 2006.