Sir Ian McKellen Avoids Going Out After Fall Due to Fear of Collisions

Sir Ian McKellen has shared that he no longer “goes out” following his fall from the stage during a performance of Player Kings in the West End.

The 85-year-old actor has been enduring wrist and neck injuries after losing his balance during a fight scene at the Noel Coward Theatre in June. As McKellen cried out in pain, the staff rushed to assist, leading to the immediate cancellation of the show and the audience being asked to leave.

Initially hopeful to return to the stage post-accident, McKellen was subsequently advised by doctors to withdraw from the play.

Despite assuring fans that he was “on the mend,” the Lord of the Rings actor confessed that he has been grappling with “shame” since the incident and avoids going out to prevent further mishaps.

“I’ve relived that fall I don’t know how many times. It was horrible,” McKellen revealed to Saga magazine while recounting the incident.

He continued, “I have to keep assuring myself that I’m not too old to act and it was just a bloody accident.”

“I didn’t lose consciousness, I hadn’t been dizzy, but I’ve not been able to go back to performing, and they’ve continued without me,” he added.

“I don’t feel guilty, but the accident has let down the whole production,” McKellen lamented.

“I feel such shame. I was hoping to rejoin the play on the tour, but I couldn’t,” he added.

Discussing his injuries, McKellen explained: “My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet mended. I don’t go out because I get nervous in case someone bangs into me, and I’ve got agonizing pains in my shoulders due to my whole frame having been jolted. But I was wearing a fat suit for Falstaff, and that saved my ribs and other joints.”

Further detailing the events of the night, he said: “It was in the battle scene. My foot got caught in a chair, and trying to shake it off, I started to slide on some newspaper scattered over the stage, as if on a skateboard.

I don’t go out because I get nervous in case someone bangs into me, and I’ve got agonizing pains in my shoulders due to my whole frame having been jolted.

“The more I tried to get rid of it, the faster I proceeded down a step, onto the forestage, and then onto the lap of someone in the front row.

“I began screaming, ‘Help me!’ and then ‘I’m sorry! I don’t do this!’ It was an extraordinary moment. I thought it was the end of something. It was very upsetting.”

Clarifying “the end,” he mentioned he didn’t mean his death but was concerned about his role in the play.

McKellen portrayed John Falstaff in the production, which was adapted by Robert Icke from Shakespeare’s Henry IV parts one and two.

The Lord of the Rings actor said he is being cared for by his neighbors and jokingly mentioned that what he misses the most at the moment is the pub quiz at The Grapes, a pub he co-owns in east London.

McKellen’s understudy, David Semark, stepped in to complete the West End run and continued the role during the national tour. The actor hinted at the possibility of reprising the play in the future, but left it open-ended, saying, “There are suggestions we’ll do it again, but we’ll see.”

Additional reporting by agencies

Source: Saga magazine, Getty Images