Sir Ian McKellen has credited a fat suit with saving him from extensive injuries when he fell off the stage during Player Kings in London two months ago.
Speaking with Saga Magazine, the star said his injuries would have been far worse without his unique wardrobe.
“I was wearing a fat suit for Falstaff,” McKellen said, referencing the character he played, “[and that] saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky.”
McKellen, 85, is still recovering from the painful accident at the Noël Coward Theatre, sharing that he still has a long way to go.
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“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet mended,” he shared.
“I don’t go out because I get nervous in case someone bangs into me, and I’ve got agonising pains in my shoulders to do with my whole frame having been jolted.”
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The actor then detailed how the “upsetting” accident happened.
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“It was in the battle scene. My foot got caught in a chair, and trying to shake it off I started to slide on some newspaper that was scattered over the stage, like I was on a skateboard.
“The more I tried to get rid of it, the faster I proceeded down a step, onto the forestage, and then on to the lap of someone in the front row.”
“I started screaming, ‘Help me!’ and then, ‘I’m sorry! I don’t do this!’ Extraordinary things.
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“I thought it was the end of something. It was very upsetting. The end didn’t mean my death, but it felt like the end of my participation in the play.”
Following the advice from his medical team, producers of the production announced that McKellen had withdrawn his role in the show.
David Semark, his understudy, took over the role for the final three shows and the national tour.
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