LONDON (AP) — Actor Ian McKellen said Tuesday he is eager to return to work after he fell off the stage during a performance in London and was hospitalized.
McKellen, 85, said he was “very grateful” to the doctors who treated him after he collapsed during a performance of “The Player Kings” at London's Noel Coward Theatre on Monday night.
“They have assured me that my recovery will be full and rapid and I look forward to returning to work,” he said on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Following the accident, performances scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were cancelled and will now resume on Thursday.
The stage and screen veteran who played Gandalf in the film “Lord of the Rings” According to a BBC reporter who was at the theater, a man working on the films screamed in pain after the fall. McKellen was playing the evil John Falstaff in “Player Kings,” an adaptation of William Shakespeare's two “Henry IV” history plays, directed by Robert Icke.
AP correspondent Margie Saroleta reports that actor Ian McKellen fell off a stage in London.
Theatre audiences were shocked when McKellen slipped and fell off the stage during a fight scene between Prince Hal, played by Toheeb Jimoh, and Henry Percy, played by Samuel Edwards-Cook.
Spectator Paul Critchley told the PA news agency that “Sir Ian appeared to trip as he stepped down from the stage to take a more active part in the scene.” He said it was a jolt. “As he stepped down from the stage he picked up speed which resulted in him falling straight off the stage into the audience.”
The actor was helped by staff and two doctors in the audience, the theater said in a statement. The theater was evacuated and the performance canceled.
McKellen played Magneto in the “X-Men” films and is one of Britain's most acclaimed Shakespearean actors, having played roles such as Richard III, Macbeth and King Lear.
He has won a Tony Award for “Amadeus”, several Olivier Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, five Emmys and several Bafta Awards.