Sir Ian McKellen, 85, thought he’d ‘broken neck and was dying’ after horrific fall

Sir Ian McKellen has revealed his fears after falling off stage during a live theatre show earlier this year.

The 85-year-old Lord of the Rings legend was performing on the West End in a production of Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre in London when he stumbled and fell into the front row.

‘I had a bit of an accident, which wasn’t too bad physically because I was wearing a fat suit, because I was playing a big fat man,’ he recalled on Monday’s episode of This Morning. ‘That broke the fall!’

Sir Ian noted that while he’s feeling better ‘physically’, he is still struggling with his initial fear he may have ‘broken his neck’ in the fall.

‘Physically, yes. But I thought as it was happening that it was very serious. And apparently I said, “I’ve broken my neck, I’m dying,”‘ he added.

‘I don’t remember saying it, but I did. So I must’ve felt it, and I think that’s inside me somewhere. So when that’s gone, I’ll feel like I’m better so I’m not going to work for a bit.’

Sir Ian McKellen feared he’d broken his neck after falling off stage (Picture: ITV)

He opened up about the incident on This Morning (Picture: ITV)

The accident occurred during a particularly intense battle scene. Sir Ian’s foot got caught in a chair, and in trying to shake it loose, he began to slide on scattered newspaper across the stage.

The fall resulted in chipped vertebrae and a fractured wrist, injuries that continue to plague the veteran actor, but it could’ve been worse without the fat suit, while he also landed on a member of the audience.

‘I don’t remember exactly what happened. I finally found out who she was, and so I’ve been contact with her,’ he said, chuckling: ‘But I hope she’s alright!’

Sir Ian, who appears in new movie The Critic alongside Gemma Arterton, has also weighed in on a potential return to Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

Sir Ian was playing Falstaff in Player Kings when he fell off stage (Picture: Manuel Harlan)

He thinks the fat suit helped him not suffer more serious injuries (Picture: Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Asked by This Morning host Ben Shephard if his break would give him time to recover before reprising his role as Gandalf, the actor laughed: ‘Yes!’

He added: ‘Well, all I know is that they called me up and said these films were gonna happen, they’re mainly gonna be about Gollum, Andy Serkis who played Gollum is gonna direct, and there would be a script arriving some time in the new year, next year.

‘And then I’ll judge whether I want to go back! I’d love to go back to New Zealand, number one, and I don’t like the idea of anyone else playing Gandalf. Don’t forget, there were two Dumbledores!’

Sir Ian wouldn’t want to see another actor as Gandalf (Picture: AP Photo/Columbia Pictures)

The original Peter Jackson-directed trilogy won 17 Academy Awards, with the final instalment Return of the King swooping up 11 wins in one night, with the record for most Oscars alongside James Cameron’s Titanic and 1959’s Ben-Hur, directed by William Wyler.

Due to its unwavering popularity, Amazon Prime is currently airing a prequel TV series, The Rings of Power, which does not feature Sir Ian’s iconic character

However, he was one of the few cast members of the initial films who returned for the Hobbit trilogy, along with Serkis.

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV1.

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