John Lithgow says Albus Dumbledore’s role isn’t hard but logistics are scary!(Photo Credit –Facebook/Instagram)
Advertisement
After years of watching Michael Gambon and Richard Harris as the iconic Albus Dumbledore in the J.K Rowling Harry Potter film franchise, John Lithgow is now all set to take up the baton for the series. The Emmy-winning actor recently appeared on Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett’s SmartLess podcast, and talked about his excitement to get cast as Dumbledore. While it’s a huge responsibility to live up to Gambon and Harris’s legacy, Lithgow isn’t scared at all.
Although the whole cast of the Harry Potter series hasn’t been disclosed yet, Lithgow confirmed that he will be seen as Albus Dumbledore. The actor revealed that the shooting schedule hasn’t been confirmed yet but once it starts filming in England, it will be easier for him to travel from his hometown in the States. For the unversed, he was also seen in the popular series, The Crown, where he portrayed Winston Churchill.
Explaining how John Lithgow thinks playing Dumbledore’s character won’t be “that hard a job,” the actor said, “You know, Dumbledore, he’s kind of this nuclear weapon. He only goes off very, very occasionally. And I don’t think it’s gonna be that hard a job.” However, he feels that it’s a good opportunity for him to continue his acting job as Dumbledore when he’s about to be eighty.
Lithgow continued, “The logistics are a little bit scary. I really did have to think hard about whether to take it on but I also thought, well, I’m about to turn 80 next year. If this is indeed a seven or eight-year-long job, it’s a wonderful way to grow old as an actor. I mean, the alternative is to just be hauled out once a year to play an Alzheimer’s patient [with] an awful lot of weeping middle-aged children, you know.”
Potter heads are already showing their excitement to see Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore in the series. He even shared that he got stopped at the airport by the fans. However, John Lithgow is currently going through the phase where he is reading the novels in which the series is based to get a better knowledge of his character. Admitting how he is still behind everybody, the actor stated, “I’m halfway through the second of these seven novels.”
While we don’t know who will play the trio – Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, we hope that they live up to the magic that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint had created back in the day. Succession fame Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod are going to be the showrunners of the series.
Well, what are your thoughts about it? Are you excited to see John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series?
