CNN —Ian McKellen is beloved as Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” franchise, but he almost missed out on the role. In an interview with Variety, the esteemed actor shared that he was not the first choice to play the character. I certainly wasn’t the first choice for Gandalf,” McKellen said. The new movie is set to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a tricky balance to strike.”The 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off Thursday and runs through Sept. 17.

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Persons: CNN — Ian McKellen, Gandalf, “, ” McKellen, “ Tony Hopkins, Sean Connery, McKellen, ”, Jimmy Erskine, Nina Land Organizations: CNN, Rings, Variety, Toronto