'Lord of the Rings' Acting Icon's Sad Last Days: Pain-Racked Sir Ian McKellen, 85, Admits He Won't Be Back on Stage for at Least Another Year

Veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen has sparked further health concerns after revealing he won't be returning to the stage for a year.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the Lord of the Rings star, 85, is still recovering from a fall at London's Noel Coward Theatre earlier this year.

The impact of the injury was so severe McKellen feared he would die – and believed he had broken his neck.

He's now facing a lengthy absence from the theater as he bids to regain his health, which took a toll both physically and mentally.

McKellen said: "What I've been left with is not so much a physical injury, but a mental disturbance because I thought it was much more serious at the time than it was."

He continued: "I'd forgotten but apparently, I'd said, 'I've broken my neck, I am dying' and if I said it, I must have thought that I was. And I've just got to deal with that. I'm not dying, not just yet and I hope I'll get back to acting again on stage."

Asked when he would know the appropriate time to return to acting, he added: "That's a good point – I think I'll know because the contract says I have to turn up at a particular time.

"I'm not proposing to work on stage for another year and I think by then this will all be alright."

McKellen is rumored to be reprising his role as Gandalf in two new Lord of the Rings movies following the blockbuster trilogy, the last of which was released in 2003.

The first new picture is called Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, with Andy Serkis set to star and direct.

Asked if he's been approached to appear in the movies, McKellen added: "One can't be indifferent to the possibility that I might be able to go back and play a part that I thought I'd finished with nearly 25 years ago.

"There are apparently going to be two films that might involve Gandalf in some way, but until I've read a script, I don't know whether it's something I'd want to do – but I do feel rather proprietary towards him."

Earlier this month, McKellen documented his thoughts on the Royal Family and recalled his first meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth.

He said: "The Queen, I'm sure she was quite mad at the end.

"And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude.

"When I received a medal for acting (the Companion of Honor in 2008), she said, 'You've been doing this for an awfully long time.'"

McKellen apparently responded: "Well, not as long as you."

He added: "I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, 'Does anyone still actually go to the theatre?' That's bloody rude when you're giving someone a medal for acting.

"It meant, 'Does anyone care a f--- about you because I don't. Now off you go!'"

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