Sir Ian McKellen has shared a candid and gently humorous reflection on ageing, mortality and continuing to work at 86, admitting that recent health scares have changed his outlook on life but not his desire to keep going.
In an interview with The Timesthe veteran actor spoke openly about his outlook after a serious fall in June 2024 when he tumbled off stage during a London theater performance and was hospitalized with a broken wrist and a severed vertebra.
Looking back on the experience, McKellen said, “I’ve accepted that I’m not immortal. Yet I still function.”
The The Lord of the Rings star explained that his thoughts about mortality now come as much from seeing others as from his own physical changes.
“In reality, the inevitability of mortality comes not only from how you feel about yourself, but the simple fact that your friends die — all the time,” he said.
“When you’re young, death is amazing, a fascinating thing, but it’s a feature of getting older. Death is always there.”
After spending three days in the hospital, McKellen did not return to his role in the stage production Player kings and later revealed he had been dealing with what he described as “excruciating pain”.
On medical advice, he also skipped the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his upcoming film The Christopherswho explains in a pre-recorded message that it was “better safe than sorry”.
Now, however, McKellen is back at work in a different way.
He is currently performing in A sheet at The Shed in New Yorkan experimental production that uses virtual reality technology.
Although he and his fellow actors are not physically present in the room, the audience sees them through VR headsets.
McKellen said the format felt like a sensible move after his accident.
“I thought it was the safest way to get back to work,” he shared The Timeswho jokes that filming allows for pauses that live theater does not. “You can’t stop live theater.”
Still, he has since returned to the stage on a limited basis and said the experience calmed him down.
He noted with relief that he still enjoys performing, doesn’t find it disturbing and can remember his lines. “Considering my age, everything is good,” he said.
After reflecting on the deaths of close friends, McKellen said he has found some comfort in how people approach the end of life.
“Regrets? I’ve had a few,” he admitted.
“It’s never satisfying when someone dies, but I take solace in the fact that when the people I’ve been close to are dying, they seem prepared, even accepting.”
Despite his considerations, McKellen made it clear that he is not slowing down. “I feel like I still have more to do,” he said.
His upcoming projects include The Christophersdirected by Steven Soderbergh and written by Ed Solomon, which hits theaters on April 10, as well Ebenezer: A Christmas Carolwhere he stars opposite Johnny Depp, coming in November.
He will also reprise his role as Magneto in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers: Doomsdayscheduled for release in December.
For McKellen, the acknowledgment of mortality hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm, if anything, it seems to have sharpened his appreciation for still being able to do what he loves.
