Ian McKellen to Star in Mockumentary Series 'The Academy'

According to a report in Variety, stage and screen star Ian McKellen will star in the new mockumentary series "The Academy," a new show surrounding a fictional drama academy with McKEllen Starring as his fictitious brother and academy headmaster, Murray McKellen.

The show centers on Murray McKellen's character attempts to find funding for the financially unstable Clapham Academy of Creative Arts.

The show is written and directed by Peter Hinton, who developed the series in collaboration with McKellen. McKellen will be joined in the series by British television vets Jonathan Hyde, Sylvester McCoy and Frances Barber. 

The series, which has already begun production on six of the half hour segments comprising the mockumentary is being produced by Humphrey Barclay. The U.K.'s 2Act Productions is co-producing with DLT. 

As reported in Variety, DLT executive Don Taffner Jr. was in Los Angeles late last month shopping the series to U.S. networks. Unless a network deal in the U.S. is secured soon McKellen will be forced to leave the series, as he begins filming "The Hobbit" in March.

Sir Ian McKellen has appeared on Broadway in Dance of Death, Ian McKellen: A Knight Out at the Lyceum, Wild Honey, Ian KcKennel: Acting Shakespeare, Amadeus, and The Promise. Long known as a Shakespearean actor with the U.K.'s National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, amongst other high profile establishments. He has appeared in over 250 productions, garnering multiple Tony and Olivier Awards. In 1979 he was awarded the Commander of the British Empire for his services to drama. He has recently attracted wider fame and attention for his portrayal as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and as well as for his role as Magneto in the popular X-Men films.