Ian McKellen is mostly credited in articles as the Lord of the Rings or X-Men star, but throughout his career, both before and after those big film roles, he’s always been a prolific stage actor. I think it’s the work he loves the most. Here he is at a tender 85 years young, starring in Player Kings, an adaptation of Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 by Shakespeare. He’s playing John Falstaff, a character he says he’d avoided until now, despite routinely treading the boards in Shakespearean roles. The play began its three-month run in April, with closing just around the corner on June 22. Unfortunately, McKellen suffered an accident at Monday’s show, falling off the stage and into the audience. He was immediately hospitalized, and the goods news is he’s expected to make a swift and complete recovery:

Ian McKellen is on the road to recovery after falling off stage mid-performance in London on Monday, June 17.

The actor, 85, was hospitalized after losing his footing during a fight scene in Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre, according to BBC News. The producers of the play told PEOPLE in a statement that the Lord of the Rings star has undergone a scan and is expected to make a “full recovery” following the fall.

“Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall during this evening’s performance of Player Kings,” the statement began. “Following a scan, the brilliant NHS [National Health Service] team have assured us that he will make a speedy and full recovery and Ian is in good spirits.”

“The production has made the decision to cancel the performance on Tuesday 18 June so Ian can rest,” the statement continued. “Those affected will be contacted by their point of purchase as soon as possible tomorrow. Thank you to doctors Rachel and Lee who were on hand in the audience and to all the venue staff for their support.”

McKellen later thanked everyone for their “kind messages and support” following the accident.

“Since the accident, during a performance of Player Kings last night, my injuries have been diagnosed and treated by a series of experts, specialists and nurses working for the National Health Service,” he said in a statement to Variety. “To them, of course, I am hugely indebted. They have assured me that my recovery will be complete and speedy and I am looking forward to returning to work.”

The audience was evacuated by theater staff following the incident, per BBC News. The outlet reported that McKellen, who plays the character of John Falstaff in the play, fell off the front of the stage and cried out in pain as crew members rushed to help.

Audience member Charlie Johnson told ITV News, “There were strobe lights and then it all went dark, at which point you could see the silhouette of Sir Ian come out from the wings. And the way the stage works at the Noel Coward is there’s sort of a step down just as the stage meets the audience.”

‘I think what happened was he put his foot too far, sort of went off that initial step, at which point he lost his balance and pretty much just went head first into the audience,” he added. “And within seconds a blood-curdling scream arose from the actor. He was clearly in a lot of pain, he was screaming, ‘Help me.’”

A source told PEOPLE that the English actor was “fine” immediately after the scare.

It’s hoped the star, who is best known for playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men films, will return to the stage on Wednesday, 19 June, for a matinee performance, per ITV.

[From People]

Oof, the descriptions of the scream Ian let out gave me chills. He’s a fairly spritely fellow — I remember his Mr. Holmes costar Laura Linney commenting on a talk show about how insanely fit and energetic he was, but of course I’m not finding it now on the interwebs, and this was nearly 10 years ago. But still, any fall as an octogenarian has to be treated seriously. Ian wasn’t at the Wednesday performance; instead the show was canceled with a similar statement that they hoped he could return on June 20. Without any disrespect to Sir Ian, is there not an understudy for him so that the show can, you know, go on? Or do the producers figure his name is such a big draw that the audience would be more upset with a replacement than a cancellation? It must be bittersweet for the whole team to have their show be derailed so close to the end of its run. Wishing a quick, but more importantly full recovery to Ian.

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