UNLIKELY HERO

Sir Ian McKellen Credits Fat Suit for Protecting His Ribs in Onstage Fall

The British actor fell while performing Shakespeare on London’s West End in June.

Sir Ian McKellen credits a fat suit for minimizing his injuries after he took a tumble on a West End stage in June. The Standard reports that McKellen credited the garment in an upcoming interview with Saga Magazine. “I avoid going out because I’m nervous someone might bump into me, and I’ve been dealing with agonizing pain in my shoulders due to the jolt my body took,” McKellen explained. “But the fat suit I wore for Falstaff saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky,” he said of the fall that left him with “chipped vertebrae” and a “fractured wrist.” Before the accident, the Lord of the Rings actor was performing a fight scene in Shakespeare’s Henry IV. In an April interview with the BBC, McKellen spoke about taking on the character. “Actors who have taken on the role say it is verbally very challenging,” McKellen said. According to the actor, it’s a role he had previously passed on playing.