Sir Ian McKellen is said to be "doing very, very well" after his accident during a live theatre show last week.
The beloved actor, 85, was performing in Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre on Monday night when he lost his footing in a scene and tumbled into the audience.
McKellen is now unable to complete the remainder of the show's London run as he recuperates and his part will instead be played by understudy David Semark.
Semark told The Mirror: "The wonderful Sir Ian McKellen called me to tell me what was going on, which was amazing, and [he] has been incredibly supportive throughout the rehearsals. The first person I heard it from was Sir Ian. We then had a discussion about the role. I have worked alongside him for months, so we get on, he's a friend."
He added: "But I am holding a place open for Sir Ian. I walk in the shadow of greatness... I've stolen 90% of what he does in that show shamelessly and tried to make it my own. It's been an incredibly stressful couple of days.
He's doing very, very well."
The show's national tour begins in Bristol on July 3, followed by dates in Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle.
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