Actor John Lithgow, who played Winston Churchill in The Crown and Eric Qualen in Cliffhanger, confirmed he will play Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s Harry Potter TV series.
Lithgow confirmed he had accepted the role telling ScreenRant, “Well, it came as a total surprise to me. I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it's going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I'm afraid. But I'm very excited.”
He added, “Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That's why it's been such a hard decision. I'll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I've said yes.”
Lithgow’s confirmation comes about a week after Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reported that the actor was close to finishing a deal to play the character. She reported at the time, “Six-time Emmy winner John Lithgow is in final negotiations to portray Professor Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s high-profile series adaptation of the hugely popular fantasy books, sources tell Deadline.”
An HBO spokesman responded to that report saying, “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”
As for what fans can expect of the series, director David Fincher revealed he had been contacted by HBO about the series and shared details about what they had in mind to Variety, “I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do Harry Potter. I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’”
However, he noted that Warner Bros. was not interested in this pitch, but was looking for something more traditional, “They were like, ‘We want Tom Brown’s Schooldays by way of Oliver.”
Tom Brown’s Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes that has been adapted to both film and television. The novel follows Tom Brown in his early childhood in the United Kingdom and his early years in school before he transfers to a Rugby School and has to deal with his nemesis and bully Flashman while also becoming the protector of George Arthur and learning to become a gentleman.
The book was adapted into a film back in 1940 by Robert Stevensen and then in 1951 by Gordon Parry. There have also been various TV adaptation including one in 1971 and more recently a TV movie in 2005.
When the series was first announced, Warner Bros. promised it would be authentic to the original novels, “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.”
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally,” it explained.
J.K. Rowling even noted at the time, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
What do you make of Lithgow playing Albus Dumbledore?
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Looking forward to his big old delivery of "Saaaiiiiilence!!"