Spider Man actor walking again after accident

The stunt actor who fell 30ft (9m) while playing Spider Man on Broadway is walking again, and his father says he cannot wait to return to the role.

Christopher Tierney's father said the actor walked today for the first time since his fall during Monday's performance of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'.

Tim Tierney said his son was spending the Christmas holiday with his mother and brother in the hospital while recovering from back surgery.

Director Julie Taymor visited Christopher in the hospital on Christmas Eve, he said.

'Spider Man', the most expensive Broadway show yet, had to cancel two preview performances after the fall.

It had a scheduled night off on Friday, but the production is returning to the stage tonight.

The $65m (€49.5m) production has been plagued by technical glitches, money woes and three other injuries, including a concussion and two broken wrists.

Tim Tierney said he believed his son would regain close to full mobility after recovering from injuries that included a hairline skull fracture, four broken ribs, a bruised lung, internal bleeding and cracks in three lumbar vertebrae.

The actor's plunge from a ledge into a stage pit, despite a safety harness that should have prevented the fall, was not caused by equipment failure, Tim Tierney said, without elaborating.

The State Department of Labour said the cause is still under investigation, and the Actors' Equity Association union said the fall was caused by human error.

The much-anticipated production, teaming Lion King creator Taymor with U2 songwriters Bono and The Edge, has had a bumpy ride to Broadway. It has been in previews for a month, and its official Broadway opening has twice been postponed. It is now set for early February.