John Lithgow confirms he will play Dumbledore in Harry Potter TV show
American actor John Lithgow has been confirmed he will take on the role of Professor Dumbledore in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series reboot from HBO.
Lithgow told ScreenRant that the call had been a “total surprise” to him.
“It was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid,” the actor said. “But I’m very excited.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“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 may be American but he has proven his chops with an English accent, having memorably embodied the most British of British men, Winston Churchill, in the first season of The Crown. He won an Emmy for his role and was nominated for a BAFTA.
He will be the fourth actor to play Dumbledore after Richard Harris who portrayed the wizard in the first two Harry Potter films, Michael Gambon, who took over the role after Harris’s death, and Jude Law, who played the young version in the Fantastic Beasts films, earning the nickname, “Yumbledore”.
Lithgow was first linked to the role two weeks ago when The Hollywood Reporter wrote he was in talks. While he may have let it slip he’s agreed, HBO implied in a statement that the deal was still being finalised.
It said in a statement to Good Morning America, HBO said, “We appreciate that such high-profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise details.”
Lithgow, 79, is a six-time Emmy winner and two-time Oscar nominee who has been on screen since 1972. His best-known credits include films Cliffhanger, The World According to Garp, Harry and the Hendersons, Terms of Endearment and, most recently, papal drama Conclave. His next release is Jimpa, the Adelaide-shot movie from Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde.
His TV work includes 139 episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun, a season of Dexter and The Old Man.
Warner Bros confirmed in 2023 it was developing a reboot of the eight Harry Potter films but this time it would be made for streaming, which each book spanning a season. It is expected to debut in 2026.
In June, the project hired a pair of Brits to oversee the series, writer Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod. Gardiner has worked on Killing Eve, Succession and His Dark Materials while Mylod has helmed episodes of The Last of Us, Succession, Game of Thrones and Shameless.
Actors whose names have been linked to the upcoming series include I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu who has been eyed to play Severus Snape.
At 34, Essiedu is considerably younger than Alan Rickman, then 55, was at the start of the film franchise, but there are reports the TV show is looking to cast closer to the ages the adult characters were in the book. In the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book, Snape was 31 years old.
Other names rumoured to be considered for roles include Sharon Horgan and Rachel Weisz as Professor McGonagall and Brett Goldstein as Rubeus Hagrid, while previously Mark Rylance and Mark Strong were linked to Dumbledore.
Speculation Cillian Murphy might take on the role of Voldemort has already been quashed.
The Harry Potter series will stream in Australia on Max, Warner Bros’ streaming platform which will launch locally on March 31.
