Ian McKellen fell off the stage while performing the play ‘Player Kings’ at a theater in London on June 17.

According to BBC , the British star was filming a fight scene when he slipped and fell off the stage. He cried out in pain after the accident. When crew members ran to help, the theater lights turned on and the audience was evacuated from the theater.

Actor Ian McKellen. Photo: The Wolseley Hospitality Group

Actor Ian McKellen. Photo: The Wolseley Hospitality Group

One audience member said he was shocked when the incident happened, but revealed that Ian McKellen was still conscious after the fall. “I really hope he’s okay,” this audience member said. On Twitter, many fans also sent wishes for the veteran star to recover soon.

Ian McKellen’s representative thanked “the audience and the public for their good wishes”. The representative assured that the actor is recovering and in good spirits. However, production decided to cancel the performance the next day so Ian could rest.

Ian McKellen is one of the main actors in the play Player Kings – a more than three-hour adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV . The play opens in the West End from April 2024 and the actors will tour across the UK until the end of July.

This is the actor’s sixth stage role in the past three years since theaters reopened after a shutdown due to Covid-19. Earlier this month, Ian McKellen told the Times that he treats every role as if it were his last in his 80s.
Ian McKellen as the magician Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Photo: CE Features

Ian McKellen as the magician Gandalf in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Photo: CE Features

Ian McKellen was born in 1939 in Lancashire, England. He is best known for playing the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. Ian is also loved for his role as Sherlock Holmes in Mr. Holmes , the role of mutant Magneto in X-Men , the role of Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code… The actor has won a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, 6 Laurence Olivier Award, two Oscar nominations, 4 BAFTA Award nominations and 5 Emmy Award nominations… For his artistic contributions, Ian McKellen was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.