Ian McKellen engagement report
@IanMcKellen - 3.6M followers on X
Measured over 11 original posts from a 30-day window, last computed on October 30, 2026.
Engagement
A typical post picks up 1.1K interactions against 3.6M followers, an engagement rate of 0.032%. Measured over 11 original posts, its engagement rate beats 51% of 21,624 tracked accounts of a similar size, which puts it in the middle of its size range rather than at either end. Posts are seen about 65K times each, and 1.75% of those impressions turn into an interaction. That is about 1.81% of the follower count, which is the gap between an audience on paper and an audience in a timeline. Posting runs at about 0.37 posts a day over the last 30 days, though only 37% of days saw any activity at all. Most posts go out around 13:00 UTC, and Friday is the busiest day of the week. Of the 11 posts sampled, 91% carry an image or video and 73% link out. The account's strongest tracked post pulled 527K interactions, about 461x its own typical post.
Measured over 11 original posts from a 30-day window, last computed on October 30, 2026. Recurring tag: #gotham.
Compared with accounts its own size
Ian McKellen's engagement rate beats 51% of the tracked X accounts closest to it in follower count (21,624 accounts, accounts of similar size (decile 10 of 10)). A percentile is spread evenly by construction, so 50 really is the middle of that group and 90 really is its top tenth.
On engagement per impression rather than per follower it beats 62% of the same group. When those two numbers disagree, the gap is about how far its posts travel rather than how people react to them.
Where this sits in the catalog
At 0.032%, Ian McKellen sits above the 25th percentile of the 217,518 accounts in this comparison. That places it in the below the median band, which runs 0.025% to 0.148%.
Show the percentile table
| Percentile | Engagement rate |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | 0.004% |
| 25th percentile | 0.025% |
| 50th percentile | 0.148% |
| 75th percentile | 0.704% |
| 90th percentile | 2.63% |
| 99th percentile | 82.5% |
This ruler is the whole measured catalog, not a size-matched group: it shows where the raw rate falls across every account we can measure, all of which are large. For a like-for-like comparison, read the size-band percentile above instead. See how the bands are built
Posting timing
This account posts most often around 13:00 UTC, and Friday is its busiest day of the week. The bars below are the catalog-wide pattern, with this account's own busiest slot marked. They do not show how this account performs at each hour: we keep one aggregate per account, not one per hour, so that measurement does not exist in our data.
Show engagement by hour posted, utc as a table
| Hour (UTC) | Vs author median | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC | -1% | 89K |
| 01:00 UTC | -2% | 90K |
| 02:00 UTC | -3% | 88K |
| 03:00 UTC | -4% | 94K |
| 04:00 UTC | -5% | 76K |
| 05:00 UTC | -4% | 75K |
| 06:00 UTC | -5% | 86K |
| 07:00 UTC | -5% | 93K |
| 08:00 UTC | -4% | 108K |
| 09:00 UTC | -4% | 124K |
| 10:00 UTC | -3% | 129K |
| 11:00 UTC | -3% | 141K |
| 12:00 UTC | -3% | 154K |
| 13:00 UTC | -3% | 167K |
| 14:00 UTC | -4% | 173K |
| 15:00 UTC | -2% | 176K |
| 16:00 UTC | -3% | 171K |
| 17:00 UTC | -3% | 159K |
| 18:00 UTC | -2% | 149K |
| 19:00 UTC | -2% | 141K |
| 20:00 UTC | -1% | 131K |
| 21:00 UTC | 0% | 116K |
| 22:00 UTC | -2% | 100K |
| 23:00 UTC | -1% | 90K |
Show engagement by day of week as a table
| Day | Vs author median | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | +5% | 393K |
| Monday | +1% | 483K |
| Tuesday | -2% | 520K |
| Wednesday | -3% | 472K |
| Thursday | -2% | 430K |
| Friday | -3% | 447K |
| Saturday | +2% | 393K |
Formats this account uses
Its own posting mix on the left, and what each of those formats does across every account we track on the right. Only formats where the effect clears our publish test appear here, so an empty row is a format we could not measure rather than one that does nothing.
| Format | This account | Catalog effect | 95% interval | Accounts behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image or video | 91% of posts | +111% | +108% to +115% | 34K |
| Outbound link | 73% of posts | -41% | -42% to -40% | 32K |
| Typical length | - | +15% | +14% to +16% | 32K |
- 91% of this account's sampled posts carry an image or video. Across the catalog, posts with an image or video run 111% above the same accounts' other posts.
- 73% of its posts carry a link off X. Across the catalog, posts with an outbound link run 41% below the same accounts' other posts, so a large share of this account's output sits in the weakest bucket we measure.
- Its average post runs 572 characters, which falls in the over 280 characters band. Across the catalog, posts over 280 characters run 15% above the same accounts' other posts.
These are catalog-wide differences applied to this account's own posting mix, not a measurement of how each format performs for this account specifically. We keep one median per account, not one per format per account, so the second thing is not something this data can tell you.
Best tweets
- Oct 30, 2026461x their median
SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026) Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love. We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway. America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire. His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen. Ian McKellen 29 October 2026 Photo: University of Huddersfield
- Jul 12, 20245.7x their median
My goodness, how well Merry and Pippin turned out, a quarter of a century after we met in Hobbiton. https://t.co/KTZC1uZlWc
- Jan 7, 20263.1x their median
Tomorrow. 4PM GMT. https://t.co/iV0NN5aajj
- Jul 2, 20242.2x their median
Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks. Meanwhile the show goes on and the Player Kings company start their four weeks’ tour without me. My understudy David Semark, who with panache took over for the final performances at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End of London, will play Falstaff again in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle. Any actor will say that missing a performance feels somewhat shameful, even when he is not to blame. None of us ever wants to let down our audience. But Robert Icke’s masterful production remains intact. His mis en scene is compelling throughout and his actors, led by Toheeb Jimho and Richard Coyle as Prince Hal and his father, remain on top form. Go see for yourself!
- Jul 5, 202615x their median
To celebrate London Pride today here’s a first look at my new film Frank & Percy, which is coming soon… Happy Pride everybody. https://t.co/kCh777IBHR
- Oct 16, 20268.6x their median
Photo 1: On a recent visit to Rome, I spent an afternoon visiting the Swiss Guard. Here we are at the entrance to Bernini's covered corridor which leads directly to the Scala Regia. Photo 2: I was greeted by a Guard stationed at the Portone di Bronzo (Bronze Doors), a monumental threshold which serves as the primary formal entrance to the Apostolic Palace. Photo 3: Standing side by side with our Middle-Earth inspired tattoos: his is of Glamdring, mine is of the Fellowship (a very different fellowship!) Photo: A moment of reflection in the Vatican Gardens. Photos by Frederic Aranda
- Sep 4, 20268.3x their median
My acting career is 65 years old today. It began at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, which then had a year-round company of actors presenting a new production every two weeks. My first, fresh from my graduation from Cambridge University, was a revival of “A Man for All Seasons”, Robert Bolt’s popular re-telling of Thomas More’s fatal political battle with King Henry 8th. My part was the hero’s son-in-law young Will Roper. My début was inglorious. After the excitement of my first scene, I went upstairs to my dressing-room to recover, only to hear the stage manager's urgent message on the backstage tannoy system: “Mr. McKellen you are off”, meaning I had missed my entrance for Roper's second appearance. I made it down to the stage level only to discover that my colleagues had completed the scene, effortlessly covering my absence with an imrovisation or two, I sat disconsolate in the green room after the show. The leading lady Sheila Keith approached the dejected, newest member of the troupe: "Don’t worry, dear. A professional actor is off only once in their career. Aren’t you lucky to have got it over with, so early?"
- Jan 8, 20267.7x their median
One reunion to rule them all. The Lord Of The Rings fellowship celebrates 25 years of cinema’s greatest fantasy saga in Empire’s world-exclusive reunion issue – featuring brand-new interviews, cast photos, and more. On sale Thurs 15 January. READ MORE: https://t.co/BzzfqGFydJ https://t.co/U8DHFqKQxd
- Jul 20, 20267.0x their median
December 18th is Doomsday. Experience Avengers: Doomsday on bigger, brighter, & more immersive screens. Tickets are now on sale exclusively for Infinity Vision certified theaters: https://t.co/BPOs3K3rpi https://t.co/XlvKCUL0R0
- Jul 27, 202412x their median
On the day of the 101st and final performance of Player Kings – without me – I celebrated by removing Falstaff’s hair, which has been growing for 9 months. I will be in the audience for the matinee in Newcastle. Photo by Frederic Aranda. Hair by Luke Davies at Supply 91. https://t.co/sHoBdJMlqj
Ranked by total interactions across everything we have tracked for this account, which is a longer history than the 30-day window the rates above use. The multiple compares each post to this account's own median.
Recurring topics
The most frequent hashtags in the sampled posts. They describe what this account writes about; they are not a performance signal, and the catalog-wide breakdown on the hub shows how little hashtag count moves.
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Reading these numbers
A typical post picks up 1.1K interactions against 3.6M followers, an engagement rate of 0.032%. Measured over 11 original posts, its engagement rate beats 51% of 21,624 tracked accounts of a similar size, which puts it in the middle of its size range rather than at either end. Posts are seen about 65K times each, and 1.75% of those impressions turn into an interaction. That is about 1.81% of the follower count, which is the gap between an audience on paper and an audience in a timeline. Posting runs at about 0.37 posts a day over the last 30 days, though only 37% of days saw any activity at all. Most posts go out around 13:00 UTC, and Friday is the busiest day of the week. Of the 11 posts sampled, 91% carry an image or video and 73% link out. The account's strongest tracked post pulled 527K interactions, about 461x its own typical post.
- What is Ian McKellen's engagement rate on X?
- Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) has an engagement rate of 0.032%, based on the median interactions across 11 original posts from the last 30 days against 3,587,348 followers. Replies, reposts and quote-posts of other people are excluded from that sample.
- Is that a good engagement rate?
- At 0.032%, Ian McKellen sits above the 25th percentile of the 217,518 accounts in this comparison. Those comparison accounts are all large ones, because our scanning cadence is weighted towards big accounts, so this is a ranking among peers of similar scale rather than a ranking across X.
- Does @IanMcKellen have real engagement?
- Its engagement rate beats 51% of the tracked X accounts closest to it in follower count (21,624 accounts), which puts it in the middle of its size range group. Ranking inside a size band matters because engagement rate falls as accounts grow, so a raw rate would mostly re-measure the follower count. It is a starting point for a look at follower quality, not a verdict on it.
- When does @IanMcKellen post?
- Most posts go out around 13:00 UTC, and Friday is its busiest day, at roughly 0.37 posts per day across the measured window.