A HOLLYWOOD star was back in his hometown over the weekend to celebrate his landmark 80th birthday.

Sir Ian McKellen discovered his passion for acting while a pupil at Bolton School and a member of the local amateur dramatics groups.

Today he remains a patron of Bolton Little Theatre.

After reading English at Cambridge University and although recognised worldwide his roles in X-Men as villain Magneto and of course Gandalf in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, he was worked non-stop in the British theatre.

He has been leading man and produced plays, modern and classic, for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain and in the West End of London.

So it is no wonder he chose to celebrate his 80th birthday by raising funds for theatres, with his new solo show on 80 stages across the UK.

And Sir Ian, who was born in Burnley, lived in Wigan and later Barrow Bridge, went to school in Bolton, is now just over half-way through his tour, which started on January 25 in London and finishes on September 15 at the National Theatre, Oliver.

In Shakespeare he has triumphed as Richard II, Macbeth (with Judi Dench), Coriolanus, Iago, Richard III (also on film) and most recently as King Lear.

Of late he has been Widow Twankey in the Old Vic’s “Aladdin” pantomime and toured “Waiting for Godot” and “No Man’s Land” with Patrick Stewart. As Salieri in “Amadeus” he won every available award on Broadway. For over a decade, he toured his one-man show, “Acting Shakespeare”.

He won his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor, as the gay film director James Whale, in Bill Condon's 1998 classic “Gods and Monsters”.

Since he has starred in The Da Vinci Code”, “Mr Holmes”, “Beauty and the Beast”, with “CATS” yet to come.

His television work stretches from “Rasputin” to “Coronation Street”, from “Extras” with Ricky Gervais to “Vicious” with Derek Jacobi.

On the first ever Film On Four, Sir Ian was in Stephen Frears' “Walter” and last year played “The Dresser” with Anthony Hopkins.

In 1991, Sir Ian was knighted for services to theatre in UK.

He was co-founder of Stonewall UK, which lobbies for legal and social equality for gay people.

In 2008, the Queen appointed him Companion of Honour (CH), for his services to Drama and to Equality.

In 2010 Bolton School, where the Old Boy was headboy between 1957 and 1958, opened the McKellen Studio Theatre in the actor's honour.

On Friday night, Sir Ian spent the day at his former school, including enjoying a party with famous names in the Arts Centre in the evening.

Philip Britton, head of Bolton School boys' division, said: "It was wonderful to welcome Old Boy Sir Ian McKellen back to school on Friday to give the boys a performance of some of his 80th birthday show on the Great Hall stage where he had done some of his acting as a boy.

"His obvious sense of fun, his acknowledgement of how teachers had indulged and nurtured his passion for acting and the sense of gratefulness for opportunity was brilliant to see.

"An amazing experience for the boys at the end of their exam week!

"In the Q&A we learned he was in Blackburn House when at school (who would have thought he would remember after 60 years) , his favourite subject was geography and be wished he had been better at maths and science. And we started a debate on whether Gandalf or Magneto would win a contest.

"Before the afternoon show Sir Ian had been guest of honour at a birthday lunch in school where 30 or his 80 year old classmates had gathered to wish him well and remember old times. As Sir Ian said 'it is a party for us all'.

"They even managed a chorus of Happy Birthday. The school had first had the idea of inviting classmates and been delighted by how many were able to travel (as far afield as Scotland and France in two cases). They then saw the afternoon show.

"Later on Friday it was a real privilege that the school Arts Centre, used to catering for dinners and weddings,had been selected as the venue for Sir Ian’s surprise birthday party. The stellar list of guests genuinely surprised him and had a wonderful evening. Some boys from school and some younger Old Boys involved in acting put on a short show of his acting life at school, receiving a standing ovation from the A-list acting audience."