It was doctor’s orders, but sadly Ian McKellen couldn’t attend the Toronto Film Festival premiere of “ The Christophers ,” a new Steven Soderbergh film that gives the Oscar nominee his meatiest role in years. In a pre-taped introduction, McKellen said his “medical advisers” told him he shouldn’t fly.

“Better safe than sorry,” the 86-year-old actor said. McKellen went on to note that the last time he was in the city was in 1999 when he was shooting “X-Men,” the comic book adventure that saw him originate the role of Magneto, a part he will reprise in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.”

“If you enjoy it, will you tell your friends,” McKellen beseeched the audience at the Princess of Wales Theatre. “That’s partly what festivals are about, isn’t it?”

McKellen may not have been on hand,

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