Ian McKellen suffered injuries to his wrist and neck when he fell off the stage during a performance of Player Kings in London on June 17. The 85-year-old actor, however, says it could have been much worse.
McKellen believes he has a fat suit to thank for saving him from more severe injuries, he revealed in an interview with Saga Magazine published Tuesday, August 20.
“I was wearing a fat suit for Falstaff and that saved my ribs and other joints,” he explained. “So I’ve had a lucky escape really.”
The six-time Olivier Award winner also shared how the fall happened, which forced the cancellation of the show as he recovered. Understudy David Semark then took over the role of John Falstaff for the remainder of the play’s run at London’s Noël Coward Theatre.
“My foot got caught in a chair, and trying to shake it off I started to slide on some newspaper that was scattered over the stage, like I was on a skateboard,” McKellen said.
He continued, “The more I tried to get rid of it, the faster I proceeded down a step, onto the forestage, and then on to the lap of someone in the front row. I started screaming, ‘Help me!’ and then ‘I’m sorry! I don’t do this!’ Extraordinary things. I thought it was the end of something. It was very upsetting.”
McKellen has also dropped out of the touring version of the show, which will take Player Kings to Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle.
As McKellen recovers, he can reflect on the incident, which has forced him into a neck brace.
“I don’t feel guilty, but the accident has let down the whole production,” he said. “I feel such shame. I was hoping to be able to rejoin the play on the tour, but I couldn’t.”
Instead, he is continuing to rest up. McKellen updated fans in a July 2 post via X, saying that doctors expect him to make a full recovery. “But only if I avoid work over the next few weeks,” he explained.
He expanded in his interview with Saga, detailing the “agonizing pain” he endures if he is unexpectedly hit.
“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet mended,” he said. “I don’t go out because I get nervous in case someone bangs into me, and I’ve got agonizing pains in my shoulders to do with my whole frame having been jolted.”
This isn’t the first time an injury has forced McKellen to the sidelines during a play. In 2018, he suffered a leg injury while running to catch a train so he could make it to London’s Duke of York Theatre, where he was acting in King Lear.
