In which 2001 movie did Ian McKellen play the character Gandalf the Gray?

Ian McKellen played Gandalf the Gray in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, released in 2001.

Directed by Peter Jackson, the film adapts the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and follows Frodo Baggins after he inherits the One Ring. Gandalf guides Frodo and the other members of the Fellowship as they begin the journey toward Mordor and the Ring’s destruction.

McKellen’s Gandalf is initially the Gray, a wise but limited wizard who investigates the Ring’s danger and confronts the Balrog in Moria. In the later story he returns as Gandalf the White, so the color distinction is important when identifying the first film.

The movie premiered in London on December 10, 2001, and reached U.S. cinemas on December 19. McKellen received a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award nomination for his performance. A common mix-up is naming The Two Towers, in which Gandalf appears after his transformation, rather than the first film.