Yahoo News Ian McKellen Says Wearing a Fat Suit 'Saved My Ribs' After 'Horrible' Stage Fall, but He’s Still in 'Agonizing Pain'
"I consider myself lucky,” the actor said
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Ian McKellen is sharing how wearing a fat suit actually helped him when he fell off stage during a performance at London's Noël Coward theater.
The Player Kings star, 85 — who plays the character of Sir John Falstaff — told Saga Magazine that he’s now afraid to leave the house after his June 17 accident, but admitted his injuries could’ve been a lot worse.
“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet healed. I avoid going out because I’m nervous someone might bump into me, and I’ve been dealing with agonizing pain in my shoulders due to the jolt my body took,” McKellen said. “But the fat suit I wore for Falstaff saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky.”
“I’ve relived that fall countless times. It was horrible,” he continued. “I thought it was the end of something. It was very upsetting. The end didn’t mean my death, but it felt like the end of my participation in the play.”
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Despite calling it a “lucky escape,” McKellen told the outlet that he has to keep telling himself that he’s not too old to act.
"It was just a bloody accident,” he said. “I didn’t lose consciousness, I hadn’t been dizzy, but I’ve not been able to return to the stage, and they’ve continued without me."
McKellen was hospitalized for three days after the accident. He was in a fight scene when he lost his footing and reportedly fell off the front of the stage.
"Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend,” the actor shared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on July 2. “My doctors promise a complete recovery - but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks."
McKellen later confirmed that his character will continue to be played by his understudy David Semark.
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