Sir Ian McKellen has faced Balrogs, moved metal with his mind, and owned every stage he’s stepped on, but this one role took him to the brink, leaving him questioning if he’d make it out alive. This wasn’t just another day in the life of Gandalf or Magneto. This was something way more intense.
A grueling shoot, a deadly environment, and stakes higher than the Misty Mountains combined to make this role his ultimate test. Even legends like McKellen aren’t invincible, and this time, the line between performance and survival got uncomfortably blurry.
Sir Ian McKellen’s near-death stage fall and the emotional moment that almost ended his Gandalf journey
The legendary actor behind iconic roles like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Magneto in X-Men Sir Ian McKellen once thought his time was up during a performance in Player Kings.
In an interview, McKellen revealed how a terrifying fall off the stage left him contemplating death, joking that he was ready to accept he might’ve even died. He revealed (via Newsweek),
As I began gliding, I thought, this is the end. I didn’t know what it was the end of—certainly that night’s performance—but as I progressed I was ready to accept that I might be about to die.
Talk about a close call.
It wasn’t just the fall that shook him, though. McKellen had a meltdown during his Lord of the Rings days too. When faced with the technical hurdles of pretending to talk to hobbits on sticks, he candidly admitted,
And so I said into my mic, not realizing it was on, ‘This isn’t why I became an actor,’ and that evening I wrote to Peter [Jackson, the director] and offered to resign. Next day I found my tent was carpeted and full of baskets of fruit and chocolates with a note, ‘Don’t worry—we’ll find another way.’
He offered to resign from his Gandalf role, but director Peter Jackson came through with a solution: carpets, fruit baskets, and a reassuring note. Fast forward to McKellen’s West End accident, he fractured his vertebrae and wrist mid-performance. He alluded,
But I was wearing a fat suit for Falstaff and that saved my ribs and other joints. So I’ve had a lucky escape really…I thought it [the fall] was the end of something. It was very upsetting… I have to keep assuring myself that I’m not too old to act and it was just a b***** accident.
Fortunately, his trusty fat suit cushioned the blow, saving his ribs from serious damage. Despite the scare, McKellen is reflecting on mortality these days, but it’s not from fear. “I think about death every day,” he confessed, in a remarkably nonchalant way.
A true testament to his enduring spirit, Ian McKellen’s lucky escape reminds us that even legends aren’t immune to life’s unpredictable twists.
Ian McKellen’s return to Gandalf’s role was purely for the paycheck
Ian McKellen didn’t return to voice Gandalf in The Hobbit games for the magic; he did it for the money. Mckellen straight up admitted he was paid more for those video games than for actually being in The Lord of the Rings (via FaroutMagazine),
Oh, there’s that lovely money coming from the games that people play.
Yes, the legendary actor got more cash sitting in a recording booth than strutting around in a wizard’s robe. He jumped back into the game world a few times, voicing Gandalf in The Return of the King and The Battle for Middle-earth.
But when The Hobbit rolled around, McKellen wasn’t about to take the “paltry sum” they offered.
So, that’s what it’s come down to…That you don’t pay actors for doing their work.
So, someone else stepped in for the role, while Ian McKellen just shook his head. Even Gandalf’s got to draw the line somewhere, folks.
Lord of the Rings and X-Men are available to watch on Prime Video.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
