In one of the rather surprising casting news, HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series found Dumbledore. Following the original Harry Potter book series, the show tells the same story as the previous film, reportedly approaching a deal with beloved actor John Lithgow to play the principal of Hogwarts. A two-time Oscar nominee, Lithgow is widely known for voicing his lead role in Third Rock from the Sun and Shrek’s Falquad Lord.
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There aren’t many movies and TV fans that Lithgow dislikes, but the decision to cast him as Dumbledore feels a bit odd. What’s even more strange is that this was the first major casting in the HBO series, and has already broken the biggest casting rules from Harry Potter movies.
When the Harry Potter film began casting, there was a lot of talk about the casting process and how the production made claims about all the major characters played by British actors. That also applies to all eight roles in the feature film. Looking at the IMDB page of the film, you can’t find any major roles played by actors other than England, Ireland, Scotland, and more. Of course, the only exception is that the school character magical in other parts of the world that appeared in Goblet of Fire.
John Lithgow is American, as you may already know. He was born in New York and grew up in various parts of the United States. Currently, he will play one of the biggest and most important roles in the new Harry Potter project. Honestly, Dumbledore is probably the most important adult role in the franchise.
(Related: Harry Potter TV series focusing on Cillian Murphy)
John Lithgow absolutely has the talent to carry all sorts of TV shows and movies on his back, so there should be no concern about his abilities when it comes to playing Albus Dumbledore. It’s amazing to see such an iconic Harry Potter character handed over to an American actor.
The film treated all the characters like James Bond. Completely the true essence of English that everyone in the UK is proud to bring to life. It was revealed that being English is the core part of the character, and that it is unnegotiable (though the first three films were directed by non-English filmmakers).
Outside the gate, the new Harry Potter series reveals things are different this time. This means that the pool of potential stars has become much larger.
