NEWLY released pictures illustrate why Sir Ian McKellen really is a star of stage and screen.

The Bolton School old boy is known world over as Magneto from the X-Men and the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings but photographs from the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) archive show him taking on some of the most sought after roles on stage — playing the love struck Romeo in 1976 to King Lear in 2007.

His performances at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon were a far cry from when he played the title role of Shakespeare's Henry V at school.

The images have been released as part of the 200 stills of RSC productions to the public for people to browse, research or download.

The photographs, of which there are more than 3,000 and span over 80 years have been made available for the first time.

They also feature Simon Trinder a former Rivington and Blackrod High School pupil, appearing in The Tempest only last year as Trinculo.

Productions from 1936 to the present day include past and current alumni including Judi Dench as Viola in Twelfth Night, Meera Syal as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Patrick Stewart as Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.

Michelle Morton, the RSC’s Image Manager said: "We often get asked for images of our archive productions for a variety of uses, so we are really pleased to be able to share an array of our show photography online to the public in a dedicated and easily searchable format.

"Since sharing these images on social media, we know that people enjoy looking at and reminiscing about past productions, and up to now it’s been difficult for people to access these pictures independently. "With over 80 years of theatre history encapsulated within the library, it will undoubtedly be of interest to those who are teaching the plays, to students who are researching areas such as costume or make up in theatre, or for our audiences who simply want to browse some of their favourite actors or remember iconic theatrical moments."

The photographic treasure trove can be searched via the company’s new image library, in several ways — for example by favourite actor, year, director or thematic keyword such as ‘revenge’ or ‘modern dress’— and can be downloaded direct from the site free of charge for personal use, education use or private study, or requested as high-resolution for commercial uses.

The library will continue to expand as the company works its way through staging Shakespeare’s canon of plays under Gregory Doran’s leadership, with current production images being added as they join the artistic programme.

To view the archive, go to https://images.rsc.org.uk