Ian McKellen will not retire ‘as long as the legs, lungs and mind keep working’

By Naomi Clarke, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

Sir Ian McKellen has said he will continue to work “as long as the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working” after he fell from the stage earlier this year.

The 85-year-old actor lost his footing whilst performing in Player Kings in June at the Noel Coward Theatre, breaking his wrist and chipping a vertebrae.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Sir Ian said he plans to take the rest of the year off but confirmed he has no plans for retirement.

He said: “What else would I be doing if I wasn’t working? I shall take the rest of the year off and then get back to work in January.

“Just keep at it as long as the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working.”

The two-time Oscar nominee revealed he does forget names but he feels that is also because he has more to remember than people who are younger than him.

He added: “Nevertheless, it’s a nuisance when you can’t remember your best friend’s name or forget your telephone number.

“If you see me or hear I’m doing something, you know it’s worth doing. Whether I do it well is a matter for judgment.”

Sir Ian said he was doing “fine” after the “nasty fall” which occurred after his foot caught in the remains of a chair.

He explained that when he tried to kick if off, it propelled him forward and he slipped on the polished stage floor before falling off the stage.

The actor, who played John Falstaff in the play, a production adapted by Robert Icke from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, parts one and two, previously said a fat suit worn for the production is believed to have saved his “ribs and other joints”.

He insisted the fall was an accident, saying: “It wasn’t that I’d got dizzy or anything like that, it was a pure accident.

“So I count myself lucky that it’s beginning to be a distant memory, but it did mean that I couldn’t do the tour, so if it’s a chance for me to apologise to the audiences in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich, I’m sorry I wasn’t there, but I’ll be back.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he added that he was “absolutely physically recovered” but there is some emotional “residue” that he has to deal with.

“I said to myself as I slid off the stage and tripped and slipped on a polished service, ‘This is the end’, these were the words in my mind”, he said.

“And apparently I shouted out, ‘My leg is broken. I’m dying’. I don’t remember saying that. So there was a lot going on in my head as the body responded to the fall.”

Sir Ian famously played the wizard Gandalf in the first three films of Lord of the Rings franchise as well as The Hobbit trilogy, all directed by New Zealand film-maker Peter Jackson.

It has been reported a new swathe of The Lord Of The Rings films is in the works with Andy Serkis directing and starring in the first instalment, called The Hunt For Gollum, as the eponymous corrupted character.

Discussing the possibility of returning to his beloved character, Sir Ian said: “Well, I’ve had some indication from the powers that be, Gandalf will make an appearance, and I’m not letting anybody else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.”

In a new interview with The Big Issue, he told the magazine: “Enthusiasm for The Lord Of The Rings shows no sign of abating. I may even be going back to play Gandalf again.”

He added: “I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved, and they hope that I’ll be playing him.

“When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick.”