Exclusive: The beloved actor is poised to play the beloved Harry Potter character. Six-time Emmy Award winner John Lithgow is taking part in the final negotiations to portray Professor Albus Dumbledore in the adaptation of the HBO famous series of highly popular fantasy books, and information The source told Deadline.
HBO declined to comment. “We are grateful that such a high-profile series will elicit a lot of rumors and speculation,” the network said in a statement. “When you go through pre-production, we only check the details when you complete the transaction.”
Designed to run for over a decade, the Harry Potter series comes from writer/showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director/executive producer Mark Myrod. Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, is called the show at the time of its initial announcement and the “faithful adaptation” of JK Rowling’s novel.
Powerful Wizard Dumbledore is the principal of Hogwarts Wizard School and the leader of the Order of Phoenix, whose goals are fighting with Lord Dark Wizard Voldemort.
Dumbledore was portrayed by the late Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the Harry Potter film franchise. Jude Law played a younger version of the character in the prequel of The Fantastic Beasts.
They are all British or Irish, and Lithgow is American, but he plays the British character. He won the latest awards of his six Emmys for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the crown.
The Harry Potter television series was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Raceden, where the film was filmed, and is scheduled to debut on HBO in late 2026 or early 2027.
Lithgow is on track to become the first set of actors on a project where casting has attracted much attention. The rumoured factory has been in overdrive for months with speculation about who will play the book’s most iconic characters. Rumors include Potions Master Snape and Sharon Hogan and Paa Paesie Do in Lesliemanville, for the Vice Principal Minerba McGonagall, Brett Goldstein from Hogwarts Game Keeper Lumas Hug Grid, and even Oscar winner Chilean Murphy. He plays the role of Lord Wolfmort. It supports movies and ideas.
Additionally, around 32,000 children sent audition tapes to lead Harry, Hermione and Ron, making the selection progress.
Lithgow, a two-time Oscar nominee, is a co-star in the current Oscar nominee Conclave. He also stars indie Jinpo, headlined just premiering at Sundance, and will star on the other side of Jeffrey Rush in the upcoming Jenny Penn rules. On TV, Lithgow recently recreated the role of Emmy Award-winning Trinity in FX’s The Old Man regular series and Showtime’s Dexter: New Blood. He is also obsessed with narration for the potential Trinity Killer Precales series currently under work.
Tony’s two-time winner Lithgow recently played Roald Dahl after the Giants sold out at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Production will soon be moved to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End. Lithgow is currently talking about the New York City Ballet’s animal carnival. He wrote a narration in 2003 and is based on his illustrated children’s book of the same name. Lithgow is represented by UTA, anonymous content, Hansen Jacobson’s teller and perspective.
