Sir Ian McKellen says “everything is on the mend physically” following his hospitalization on June 17 after falling off stage mid-performance in London.
The actor, 85, was in the middle Player Kingsproduction Henrik IVat the Noël Coward Theatre, when he allegedly lost his footing during a fight scene, leaving him with shattered vertebrae and a broken wrist.
But as McKellen told Sky News that he’s “mobile, pain-free and ready to go,” he said he’s still “emotionally dealing with it.”
“I felt ashamed of myself, I felt like I let the audience down and I felt guilty,” McKellen said.
Sir Ian McKellen in ‘Player Kings’ in April.
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McKellen, who previously said he would not be returning kings of players, told Sky News that he decided to “take some time off” before returning to work, telling the outlet that “I’m just aware that there’s not much time left and so I’m giving myself three months off instead of six months, it doesn’t take six months.”
The actor previously said that “I avoid going out because I’m nervous that someone might bump into me, and I’m dealing with shoulder pain from the jolt my body has taken.”
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He also said the costume he wore on stage may have prevented him from further injury, adding “the fat suit I wore for [my Player Kings character, Sir John] Falstaff saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky.”
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Sir Ian McKellen in London in April.
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While resting, McKellen — who famously played Magneto in the The X-Men franchise and Gandalf in the The Lord of the Rings series — is still promoting his latest film, Criticand said that he had to talk about his injury several times.
“There was such an uproar in the press, as if I had died, and I was reading my own obituaries!” he said Sky News. “I must say there were some very nice ones, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounded.”
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