At 85, Sir Ian McKellen can't afford to take a nasty fall, but that's exactly what happened when he fell off stage in a play in London's West End in June. McKellen has been working on his recovery ever since, and needless to say, it hasn't been easy for the acclaimed actor.
The Tony-winning star opened up about her recovery process in a new interview Saga magazine.
“I don't know how many times I relived that fall. It was horrible,” he admitted.
“It was in the battle scene. My leg got caught in a chair and I tried to shake it off, I started sliding on some newspaper that was scattered around the stage like I was on a skateboard. The more I tried to get free The faster I went down a flight of stairs, into the woods, and then to the front row into someone's lap,” he said. “I started screaming: “Help!” then 'Sorry, I don't do it!' Extraordinary stuff, I thought it was the end of something.
He emphasized that he was not thinking of his death, but of his “participation in the game.”
“I have to keep reassuring myself that I'm not too old to act and it was just a bloody accident,” she said. “I didn't lose consciousness, I wasn't dizzy, but I couldn't go back and they were still playing without me.” His understudy eventually finished production Playful kingsA new adaptation of Shakespeare Henry IV.
“I don't feel guilty, but the accident let the whole production down,” he admitted. “I'm very ashamed. I was hoping to rejoin the play on the tour, but I couldn't.”
Her character's outfit ultimately saved her from further injury. “I was wearing a Falstaff fat suit and it saved my ribs and other joints. So I was really lucky,” he joked. Still, he wears a neck brace and his right hand is in a splint. But his injuries aren't just physical.
“My vertebrae and broken wrist haven't been fixed yet,” he explained. “I'm not going out because I'm going to be upset if someone hits me and I have excruciating pain in my shoulder from being shaken all over.”
McKellen reportedly ended her relationship with her partner earlier this year, so she had to let “dear neighbor friends” do her shopping and cooking for her during her recovery. “I couldn't live without them,” he admitted. “If they weren't there, I think I'd have to hire someone or go one [convalescent] home for a spell.”
It doesn't look like McKellen is going to let this setback officially end his career.