Ian McKellen reveals injuries from falling off stage during a show

Ian McKellen is reflecting on how much his life has changed since an accident in June in London’s West End, which left him with chipped vertebrae and a fractured wrist.
In an interview with Saga Magazine published Tuesday, the 85-year-old film and stage actor revealed he’s wearing a neck brace and a splint on his right hand, two months after he fell off the stage during a production of “Player Kings,” an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV.”
“I’ve relived that fall I don’t know how many times. It was horrible,” McKellen said.
“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet mended,” the “Lord of the Rings” actor added. “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.”
McKellen’s had the help of his neighbors, whom he calls “beloved friends,” as he convalesces at his London home, he said, adding: “I couldn’t manage without them.”
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The incident happened during the June 17 evening performance of “Player Kings,” and producers canceled the next day’s show “so Ian can rest,” according to a statement shared with USA TODAY at the time.
McKellen released his own statement the next day expressing his gratitude to National Health Service workers. “They have assured me that my recovery will be complete and speedy and I am looking forward to returning to work,” he said.
The renowned Shakespearean theater performer explained that while portraying Sir John Falstaff on stage, his foot got caught on a chair. He tried to “shake it off” but ended up sliding across the newspapers strewn across the stage “like I was on a skateboard.
“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,” McKellen explained. “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. I didn’t lose consciousness (and) I hadn’t been dizzy.”
McKellen also revealed his injuries could have been much worse: “I was wearing a fat suit for Falstaff and that saved my ribs and other joints. So I’ve had a lucky escape, really.”
At the time, he saw the accident as the conclusion of “my participation in the play.”
“I have to keep assuring myself that I’m not too old to act and it was just a bloody accident,” McKellen said. “I don’t feel guilty, but the accident has let down the whole production. I feel such shame. I was hoping to be able to rejoin the play on the tour, but I couldn’t.”
“Player Kings” resumed performances with McKellen’s understudy, David Semark, replacing him. He played opposite Toheeb Jimoh (“Ted Lasso”), who played Hal, and Richard Coyle (“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”).
“It’s unfinished business,” he said of playing Falstaff. “There are suggestions we’ll do (the play) again, but we’ll see.”