Sir Ian McKellen has revealed how his views on death have changed since he suffered a horrific fall from the stage during a West End performance. The 86-year-old actor injured his wrist and neck after he lost his footing during a fight scene while starring in the London production of Henry IV. In June 2024, the Lord of the Rings star portrayed John Falstaff in Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre when he took a tumble.

The Hollywood legend cried out in pain as staff rushed to help with the rest of the show immediately cancelled. He hoped to return to the stage following the accident, but later in the year, he was forced to withdraw completely in keeping with new medical advice.

Now, the A-list star has opened up about how the fall has affected him mentally in a new interview with The Times. He told the publication: "I have accepted that I'm not immortal. Yet I still function.

"And really, the inevitability of morality comes not just from what you are feeling about yourself, but the simple fact that your friends die - all the time. When you are young, death is astonishing, a fascinating thing, but it's a feature of getting older. Death becomes ever-present."

The X-Men star added that when somebody he knows dies, "the continuing emotion is that there was more to be done - I could have had longer with them, accepted that invitation, done that job with them."

McKellen, who is promoting an experimental VR production titled An Ark in the Shed, concluded: "What I feel about my life is that I've still got more to do." After sustaining his injury, the TV favourite admitted he struggled to get over the "shame" of the incident, and for a while, refused to go out in case he "banged into someone".

Recalling the events of the night to Saga magazine, he confessed: "I've relived that fall I don't know how many times. It was horrible. I have to keep assuring myself that I'm not too old to act, and it was just a bloody accident.

"I didn't lose consciousness, I hadn't been dizzy, but I've not been able to go back, and they still played without me. I don't feel guilty, but the accident has let down the whole production."

He continued: "I feel such shame. I was hoping to be able to rejoin the play on the tour, but I couldn't." Despite this setback, the actor will reprise his role as Gandalf in a new upcoming film, The Hunt for Gollum, which is shooting in New Zealand this July.