Kevin Spacey, Sir Ian McKellen, Micheal Sheen & More Pick up Variety Club Awards

Veteran British actor Sir Ian McKellen won a Variety Club Award for his "outstanding contribution to showbusiness" at this year's Variety Club Awards in London while Kevin Spacey received an award for his "outstanding contribution to the British theatre."

Pixie Lott, Spandau Ballet, Michael Sheen, Justin Lee Collins and Simon Cowell picked up awards as well.

This awards show is held annually to raise significant funds for and awareness of the work The Variety Club undertakes to help sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people.

Celebrating its Diamond Jubilee this year, the charity has raised over £200million and improved the lives of more than a million children and young people since its inception.

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.

Kevin Spacey is currently starring as Henry Dummond in INHERIT THE WIND. He has previously appeared in The Old Vic Theatre Company's productions National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, Richard II directed by Trevor Nunn and A Moon for the Misbegotten, which subsequently transferred to the Brooks Atkinson Theater New York, and most recently in Speed-the-Plow with Jeff Goldblum. Previous theatre includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor, and Tony Award nomination) directed by Howard Davies (Almeida, The Old Vic and Broadway), Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor), Long Day's Journey into Night, with Jack Lemmon, directed by Jonathan Miller (Broadway and West End). He directed The Old Vic's inaugural production Cloaca and earlier this year directed Complicit starring Richard Dreyfuss. He also sometimes works in the film industry.

 

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.