Sir Ian McKellen returning to filming next year after fall made him think he 'was on the way out'

Back in June, Sir Ian fell off stage during a live performance in London's West End

By Martha Langan, ITV News Arts and Entertainment Producer

Sir Ian McKellen has told ITV News he is getting back to work in the new year after falling off stage during a live performance in London's West End.

The two-time Oscar nominee suffered a chipped vertebrae and a fractured wrist when he lost his footing and fell onto the front row.

It happened in June this year during a performance of Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre.

The actor, who played John Falstaff in the play said his fall was only broken, and his ribs saved, by the fact he was wearing a fat suit.

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"I lost my footing on stage, not because I went dizzy, I slid off the stage and fell. Fortunately, I was playing John Falstaff who is a very fat man and I was wearing a fat suit and that protected my ribs and hips. So I fractured the wrist...a bit of the bother with the neck, but that's all gone."

Three months on, and the veteran actor says he has managed to recuperate from the physical injuries but has been left emotionally scarred by the incident.

"What I'm left with now is the emotional memory of the accident which was more severe than I realised. I was saying and shouting things about death and I thought I was on the way out. I wasn't, but I'm still left with the memory that I thought I was."

On Monday night, the 85-year-old will make his first public appearance since the accident. He'll be walking the red carpet in Mayfair for the premiere of his new film, The Critic.

It tells the story of Jimmy Erskine, a formidable newspaper theatre critic in the 1930s who takes great pleasure in tearing down the performances of promising young actors while living a life close to the edge as a gay man in a world which prevents him from being so.

"He's a gay man in the 1930s. That was a secret life because the law had decided you'd been born a criminal. In dodging the law and getting on with your life you're aware of people's disaffection with you".

"So when the time comes for him to get what he wants from this lady" (he says turning to co-star Gemma Arterton), "I think he enlists on you all the hatred and negativity that he has had to face himself. That doesn't excuse the behaviour. But the rogues are always the best parts to play".

Sir Ian came out as gay in 1988 and has since campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights worldwide. He said playing Jimmy Erskine made him reflect on how far gay rights have come since the 1930s.

"I think about it almost every day of my life, when I hear about a couple of men or women getting married it fills me with such joy. When there is homophobia in this country it is deeply shocking now. You couldn't, I think, get elected to parliament or any assembly in this country if you were declared a homophobe but 30 years ago almost the reverse was true.

"Showing sympathy towards homosexuality would have meant that your own status was suspected. It's wonderfully improved but not outside of this country. Two-and-a-half hours from Heathrow is Moscow where the president has declared there will not be a gay rights movement for 100 years. That won't do, will it? If you're living there and having to suffer through it, one is always alert. But at home, we are living in the best country as far as the laws are concerned."

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Speaking with ITV News, Sir Ian was sharp and playful, quashing any suspicion that he was promoting his final film. And while he plans to take the rest of the year off he declared with much defiance that he will be back on set filming his next movie as soon as January.

"I know what my next job is, I'm not going to tell you but it's very exciting, that'll be in January... a film!"

The actor wouldn't be drawn on the name of the project, however a new Lord of the Rings titled 'The Hunt for Gollum' is due for release in 2026 in which viewers will see the return of Gandalf.

Fans won't have to wait until then to see Sir Ian on the big screen, the Critic is out in cinemas on September 13.

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