British Actor Ian McKellen Feared He Would Die in London Stage Fall 

Actor Ian McKellen attends a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, September 11, 2018. (Reuters)
Actor Ian McKellen attends a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, September 11, 2018. (Reuters)
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British Actor Ian McKellen Feared He Would Die in London Stage Fall 

Actor Ian McKellen attends a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, September 11, 2018. (Reuters)
Actor Ian McKellen attends a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, September 11, 2018. (Reuters)

British actor Ian McKellen said on Monday he feared he would die when he lost his footing and fell off a London stage mid-performance in June.

McKellen, 85, was starring in "Player Kings", combining William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Parts One and Two", in the capital's West End theater district, when he tripped during a fight scene.

The actor, who is best known for playing Gandalf in the film versions of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" and was also Magneto in the "X-Men" movies, was taken to hospital. He did not return to the role for the rest of the tour.

"I am absolutely physically recovered," McKellen told BBC Radio. "It is emotionally that I've got some residue that I've got to deal with. I said to myself as I slid off the stage ... 'this is the end', these were the words in my mind."

"Apparently I shouted out, 'My neck is broken, I am dying'. I don't remember saying that. So there was a lot going on in my head as the body responded to the fall."

McKellen broke his wrist and chipped a vertebrae in the fall but said he was saved from more serious injury by the padding of the suit he was wearing to play the overweight character John Falstaff.

In a separate interview with BBC television, McKellen, whose stage career stretches back to 1961, said he had no plans to retire from acting and did not want anyone else to play Gandalf in the next instalment of the Lord of the Rings franchise, due in 2026.

McKellen's latest film, "The Critic", based on the novel "Curtain Call" by Anthony Quinn, in which he plays powerful theater critic Jimmy Erskine in 1930s London, is out in cinemas later this month.



Disney Launches Stage Musical 'Hercules' in London

FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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Disney Launches Stage Musical 'Hercules' in London

FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Disney takes London audiences back to Ancient Greece with its new musical "Hercules", bringing alive its 1997 animation on the West End stage.

Showing at composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the show is inspired by the much-loved Disney film, itself based on the ancient myth.

It follows the titular character and son of Zeus who, upon losing his immortality as a baby due to the plotting Hades, god of the underworld, goes from zero to hero to stop his uncle from taking over.

“It's a myth that reflects contemporary culture and still honors the DNA of (the) animated movie," Robert Horn, who wrote the show's book with Kwame Kwei-Armah, told Reuters late on Tuesday at the musical's press night.

"It's its own new thing and yet fans of the movie will absolutely come and recognize it and love it.”

Central to the show are the five Muses, who sing their way through the story with energetic gospel-like tunes and plenty of costume changes, Reuters reported.

"I think I speak for all of us ... we have idolized these women. We have looked at these women and seen ourselves in times when we weren't really represented," actor Malinda Parris, who plays Calliope, said. "So being able to be that representation for other young girls ... who ... want to be The Muses ... it's living the dream."

The show differs from the movie in several ways, including Hercules' mentor, Phil, no longer being a satyr but a taverna owner.

“The main thing is that he still is there ... to love and support Hercules on his journey," actor Trevor Dion Nicholas said.

"It really is about building this bond between the two of them that kind of builds this paternal relationship that I think we were able to deepen more so than the animated film was."

"Hercules" is the latest Disney stage adaptation in London, showing in the same theatre where the hit show "Frozen" ran up until last year.

It features songs written by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel from the animation, including "Go the Distance" and "Zero to Hero", as well as new tunes.