United Kingdom, April 27 -- John Lithgow has admitted playing Albus Dumbledore in the 'Harry Potter' reboot series will likely be his final "major role".

The 79-year-old actor has been cast as the Hogwarts headmaster in the upcoming HBO adaptation of J.K. Rowling's magical book series and one of the reasons why he accepted the job was because he saw it as a good way to start "winding down" his career.

He told the Sunday Times' Culture magazine: "Of course, it was a big decision because it's probably the last major role I'll play. It's an eight-year commitment so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role."

After accepting the role, John was surprised to receive a backlash because of the project's...