Ian McKellen’s Fat Suit Saved Him From Fall From West End Stage

When Ian McKellen fell off a London stage in June, the one factor in between him and much more critical accidents was the fats go well with he was carrying for the present.

“That saved my ribs and different joints,” he informed Saga journal this week. “So I’ve had a fortunate escape actually.”

McKellen, 85, was starring as John Falstaff in a manufacturing of Henry IV, Components One and Two, on the Noël Coward Theater in London. Throughout a June 17 efficiency, he slipped and fell throughout a struggle scene, and viewers members heard the actor cry out earlier than the gang was evacuated and the present was ultimately canceled.

“It was within the battle scene. My foot received caught in a chair, and making an attempt to shake it off I began to slip on some newspaper that was scattered over the stage, like I used to be on a skateboard,” McKellen elaborated this week.

Although docs later mentioned the Lord of the Rings actor would make a full restoration, he ultimately needed to cancel his remaining performances, together with a U.Ok. tour of the present. David Semark took McKellen’s place.

He added he’s nonetheless engaged on recovering and at present carrying a neck and wrist brace. “My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist will not be but mended,” McKellen mentioned. “I don’t exit as a result of I get nervous in case somebody bangs into me, and I’ve received agonizing pains in my shoulders to do with my complete body having been jolted.”

McKellen went on to say that he’s most upset about disrupting the present. “I don’t really feel responsible, however the accident has let down the entire manufacturing,” he mentioned. “I really feel such disgrace. I hoped to have the ability to rejoin the play on the tour, however I couldn’t.”

At dwelling in London, McKellen is being cared for by his “beloved pals subsequent door.”

“I couldn’t handle with out them,” he mentioned, including that there’s a door connecting their homes. “In the event that they weren’t there I suppose I’d should make use of any individual to do this or go to a [convalescent] dwelling for a spell.”

The buddies — “4 younger pals, one homosexual couple and one straight couple” — are additionally regulars at McKellen’s pub, The Grapes. He mentioned, “Not going to its pub quiz on a Monday night time is what I miss most proper now.”