Ian McKellen Hospitalized After Falling Off Stage During London Performance
Ian McKellen is recovering from a terrible onstage accident.
The Lord of the Rings alum was taken to the hospital after falling during a June 17 performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre in London, according to NBC News.
McKellen, 85, was in the middle of a fight scene when he lost his balance and fell off stage, leading the show to be canceled and the audience to be evacuated from the theater, per the outlet. After running some tests at the hospital, the X Men actor's medical team determined that he would "make a speedy and full recovery," his rep said in a June 17 statement to NBC.
"Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian's fall during this evening's performance of Player Kings," the spokesperson said. "Ian is in good spirits."
And while McKellen is on the mend, the rep added that the June 18 performance of the play has been canceled in light of the incident.
"Thank you to doctors Rachel and Lee who were on hand in the audience," the statement concluded, "and to all the venue staff for their support."
McKellen has been starring as John Falstaff in Player Kings, which is a production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, since April. The show is slated to have a 12-week run.
This isn't the first time the actor has canceled a stage performance due to an injury. Back in 2018, his matinee performance of King Lear was called off after McKellen sustained a leg injury while running to catch a train. In the show's place, he treated the audience to a Q&A.
McKellen wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) at the time, "Repeated apologies to Saturday's audience who missed King Lear and got just me instead."
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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