Sir Ian McKellen has skipped the Toronto Film Festival premiere of his new film The Christophers under ‘medical advice’.
The legendary Lord of the Rings actor, 86, appeared in a pre-taped introduction to the film and explained how he was advised not to fly to the Canadian city, which he last visited in 1999 when he was shooting X-Men.
‘Better safe than sorry,’ he said, per Variety, adding to the audience at the Princess of Wales Theatre: ‘If you enjoy it, will you tell your friends?’
He continued: ‘That’s partly what festivals are about, isn’t it?’
While it isn’t clear what is wrong with The Da Vinci Code actor, he was hospitalised in June last year after an on-stage fall during a performance of his play Player Kings in London left him with a chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist.
Two months later, Sir Ian told Saga Magazine that he was afraid to leave the house following the incident, which would have ended much worse if it wasn’t for a fat suit he was wearing for the role.
‘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 agonising pain in my shoulders due to the jolt my body took,’ the veteran actor said.
Sir Ian – who has been on stage and screen for some five decades – insisted the trip wasn’t caused by anything but a slip.
‘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,’ he explained at the time.
In The Christophers, which is billed one of Sir Ian’s meatiest recent roles, the actor plays a renowned painter called Julian Sklar alongside Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning, I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel, and James Corden.
In an appearance on The One Show in September Sir Ian described how he was physically recovered from the fall, but was still struggling with the mental impact.
‘Physically, yes,’ he answered, ‘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’s foot got caught in a chair and while trying to shake it loose he slid on a newspaper and landed on an audience member in the front row.
‘I don’t remember exactly what happened. I finally found out who she was, and so I’ve been in contact with her,’ he said, chuckling: ‘But I hope she’s alright!’
Elsewhere, Sir Ian has been teasing details of the new Lord of the Rings spin-off film, The Hunt for Gollum, billed for a 2027 release, which sees Andy Serkis directing and starring as the afflicted character 16 years since The Fellowship of the Ring hit screens.
‘I hear there’s going to be another movie based in Middle-earth and it’s going to start filming in May. It’s going to be directed by Gollum, and it is all about Gollum,’ Sir Ian said at a For the Love of Fantasy event in London in August, as per The Independent.
‘But I’ll tell you two secrets about the casting. There’s a character in the movie called Frodo and there’s a character in the movie called Gandalf. Apart from that, my lips are sealed!”
While fans were excited to hear these two iconic characters are returning for the flick, it’s unclear whether Sir Ian will be reprising his role as wise wizard Galdalf, or if Elijah Wood will be appearing as Hobbit protagonist Frodo Baggins.
However in September – two months after his fall – Sir Ian told Radio 4: ‘I’m not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.’
His involvement, the acting legend said, will depend on whether ‘the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working’.
In October, screenwriter Philippa Boyens told Empire that the film follows ‘quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines Of Moria. It is a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature’.
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