Sir Ian McKellen, 85, took a tumble on June 17, 2024, that landed him in the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery. The fall happened during a performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre in London.
Although Ian is best known for his roles as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films and Magneto in the X-Men films, his lifelong passion has been Shakespeare. For his friend Patrick Stewart's 80th birthday during the pandemic, Ian read Sonnet 81 for the socially distanced occasion. Magneto and Professor X are big fans of The Bard.
Ian's fall occurred during a fight scene. He tripped and fell off the front of the stage. He cried out in pain and the cast and crew ran out to help him. The audience was then evacuated from the theater.
Sandro Trapani was in the audience and spoke to the BBC about the experience. "I really hope that he is going to be all right," she stated. "As far as I saw, he was conscious because he was asking for assistance."
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Ian was performing in the production Player Kings. This new Shakespeare adaptation combines Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2 into one play. It was adapted and directed by Robert Icke.
The theater issued a statement following the unfortunate incident. “Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall during this evening’s performance of 'Player Kings,'” it began. “Following a scan, the brilliant NHS team have assured us that he will make a speedy and full recovery and Ian is in good spirits. The production has made the decision to cancel the performance on Tuesday 18 June so Ian can rest. Thank you to doctors Rachel and Lee who were on hand in the audience and to all the venue staff for their support.”
