Sir Ian McKellen has said that “death is ever present” two years after suffering a fall from the stage during a performance in London’s West End. The 86-year-old actor lost his footing during a fight scene while starring as John Falstaff in Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre in June 2024, sustaining wrist and neck injuries.
In a new interview with The Times, McKellen reflected on the incident and its impact on his view of life. “I have accepted that I’m not immortal. Yet I still function. And really the inevitability of mortality comes not just from what you are feeling about yourself, but the simple fact that your friends die – all the time,” he said. He added, “When you are young, death is astonishing, a fascinating thing, but it’s a feature of getting older. Death becomes ever present.”
McKellen, who is currently promoting an experimental VR production titled An Ark in the Shed, also spoke about his feelings of shame following the accident. “I’ve relived that fall I don’t know how many times. It was horrible,” he told Saga magazine. “I don’t feel guilty, but the accident has let down the whole production. I feel such shame.” He had hoped to rejoin the tour but withdrew on medical advice.
The actor, who will reprise the role of Gandalf in the upcoming Lord of the Rings film The Hunt for Gollum shooting in New Zealand this July, emphasised that he still feels he has more to achieve. “What I feel about my life is that I’ve still got more to do,” he said.
