‘McKellen who played Gandalf’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

Gandalf is one of the most iconic characters in The Lord of the Rings films and books, but you may not be familiar with the actor who played him. The “McKellen who played Gandalf” NYT Mini Crossword clue challenges you to recall his name.

If you’re not familiar with this actor, solving this clue can be rather tough. Here are some hints and the official answer to help you uncover the right name for the “McKellen who played Gandalf” clue on the Oct. 15 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle.

‘McKellen who played Gandalf’ Oct. 15 NYT Mini Crossword hints

• Hint 1: His name ends with the letter “N.”
• Hint 2: He was Cogsworth in the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
• Hint 3: He’s starred in several Shakespeare adaptions including Hamlet (2024), King Lear (2008), and Macbeth (1979).
• Hint 4: He played Magneto in several of Marvel’s X-Men films.

“You shall not pass” this point until you’re ready to learn the name of the actor who plays Gandalf and delivers this iconic line.

‘McKellen who played Gandalf’ NYT Mini answer

The solution for the “McKellen who played Gandalf” clue on the Oct. 15 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle is “IAN.” Ian McKellen is an English actor with a vast filmography whose most well-known roles include Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films and Magneto in several X-Men films.

‘McKellen who played Gandalf’ clue difficulty rating

I’m a big fan of Marvel movies and I’ve seen all of The Lord of the Rings films, so I was familiar enough with Ian McKellen to solve this one right away. If you’re the kind of person who remembers actor’s names easily, this one isn’t too tough to solve since he’s a fairly famous one. If you’re not though, solving this clue can be a tricky guessing game.

This isn’t one of the overall hardest clues I’ve seen, but it’s also not one of the easiest, so I’m giving it a three out of five difficulty rating.

All Oct. 15 NYT Mini Crossword clues and answers

Across

Down

• 1D Common place to find a lost TV remote— SOFA
• 2D With 4-Down, farm attraction in autumn months — CORN
• 3D Tons and tons — A LOT
• 4D See 2-Down — MAZE
• 5D Begged — PLED
• 6D McKellen who played Gandalf — IAN

Games like the NYT Mini Crossword

There are lots of other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword you can work on after completing today’s puzzle. You might enjoy the LA Times and the Washington Post if you want more crosswords to solve or Strands and Spelling Bee if you’d rather try something different.