The Harry Potter
TV show’s new Dumbledore actor, John Lithgow, explains how he was convinced to join the adaptaton. After the eight successful Warner Bros. films, J.K. Rowling’s fantasy story is now set to be brought to life in the form of a multi-season TV show on HBO from showrunner Francesco Gardiner. The full cast for the Harry Potter TV show has not yet been announced, but Lithgow confirmed to ScreenRant last month that he will be playing Albus Dumbledore, a role previously played by late actors Richard Harris and Michael Gambon.
In a recent interview with Variety, Lithgow admits that, while he may not have been very familiar with the world of Harry Potter, he knows that the previous eight films were successful. This raised the question for him of why he should join this new adaptation. According to Lithgow, the creatives behind the show presented Dumbledore’s full journey to him, and he was able to see just how complex a character he eventually becomes. Check out Lithgow’s full explanation below:
“I don’t know the Harry Potter canon by heart as 98% of the world’s population seems to. It was a huge decision because it involves the next several years of my life. And I’m not young. I mean, this is the last big role I’ll probably play.
“My big question to them was, ‘What is new about this? Why do more with the canon when it’s already been done so well?’ They just made it all sound very new.
“As the kids grew older [in the books], you learn more and more about Dumbledore, and he became a much more surprising, complicated character. They have described this to me, and I’ve got to discover it for myself and make it my own.”
Lithgow also reveals that he has a special connection to Gambon, his Dumbledore predecessor, and that was an added bonus:
“I was a huge admirer of Michael Gambon. I never met him, but I always kind of idolized him. And Michael Gambon and I happened to have the same birthday, so I thought that was a kind of wizard-like touch.”
What Lithgow’s Reason For Joining Harry Potter Means For The TV Show
The Series Will Be A Far More Faithful Adaptation
Though Lithgow doesn’t specifically mention this in his comment above, he does hint at what the core selling point of the upcoming Harry Potter TV show actually is. As he mentions, the eight core films in the saga were successful and very well-received, and it hasn’t been all that long since the story ended in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011. As a series, however, the HBO adaptation is set to depict Rowling’s story in much more detail, with roughly eight hours per book, instead of the two-or-so hours each of the movies had.
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This means that the core Harry Potter cast of characters can be fleshed out in far more detail, with more runtime to devote to storylines that were cut from the movies. More about Dumbledore can be revealed, meaning Lithgow and the show presumably won’t just be retreading familiar ground. A number of key moments, of course, will be repeated in the show, but it’s clear that there was enough new material and enough depth to this character that, for Lithgow, warranted exploration.
Deadline recently reported that actors Paapa Essiedu and Janet McTeer are nearing deals to star as Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall, respectively, in the Harry Potter TV show.
Our Take On Lithgow’s Dumbledore Casting
How The HBO Show Could Win Over Audiences
The eight Harry Potter movies are still held in high regard, and that means any and all casting information that has been released and that is to come is sure to be controversial. Lithgow being an American, for example, marks a major franchise first in terms of casting after eight movies of mostly British actors. Lithgow’s past work, however, certainly suggests he will make for a compelling Dumbledore, and it could be interesting to see what is sure to be a very new take on the character after Gambon and Harris.
Audiences, for example, may spend more time with certain characters in one season of the show than they did across all eight of the movies.
Though it could be challenging to win over older fans who grew up with the movies starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, the show having so much more space to explore characters and storylines could be key to winning people over. Audiences, for example, may spend more time with certain characters in one season of the show than they did across all eight of the movies. With production set to get underway this summer, more information about the Harry Potter TV show is hopefully not far off.
The Harry Potter TV show doesn’t yet have an official release date, but it is expected to premiere in 2026 or 2027.
Source: Variety
Harry Potter
- Showrunner
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Francisca Gardiner
- Directors
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Mark Mylod