5 3
Age 87

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

Age 49

#41

Current Rank

#14

#3

Peak Rank

#5

43

Years Ranked

15

6

Years in Top 10

8

28.2

Average Rank

11.9

42

Theatrical Releases

29

Beauty and the Beast $504.0 Million

Biggest Hit

The Martian $228.4 Million

$3.9 Billion

Career Domestic
Box Office

$1.5 Billion

COMMUNITY VOTE

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Career Comparison Summary AI-generated historical comparison. Click to expand.

Note: Films released during the selected year influence the following year's rankings.

Looking at the Hollywood Rankings in 2026, this matchup highlights how differently two careers can score within the same historical snapshot. Commercial scale is another meaningful divider, with the career domestic box office measure giving Ian McKellen the larger theatrical footprint.

The biggest-hit category sharpens the box office contrast, especially because Ian McKellen's leading film creates the stronger single-release benchmark. Based on the available ranking data, the balance leans toward Ian McKellen without turning the result into a subjective judgment of acting quality.

CAREER RANKING HISTORY

Ian McKellen Jessica Chastain

FILMOGRAPHY COMPARISON

Ian McKellen

42 theatrical releases • $3.9 Billion Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
2026 The Christophers $1.8 Million
2024 The Critic $449,020
2019 Cats $27.2 Million
2019 The Good Liar $17.2 Million
2019 All Is True $1.2 Million

Jessica Chastain

29 theatrical releases • $1.5 Billion Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
2026 Dreams $133,797
2023 Memory $381,052
2022 Armageddon Time $1.9 Million
2022 The 355 $14.6 Million
2021 The Eyes of Tammy Faye $2.4 Million