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The son of the original headmaster, Dumbledore, says he doesn’t see the need for a Harry Potter reboot
MANILA, Philippines – British actor Jared Harris will not be reprising his role as Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, a role played by his father, Richard Harris, in the first two films.
In an interview with The Independent published on Wednesday, September 25, Harris was asked if he’d be interested in reprising the iconic bearded wizard made famous by his father, to which he replied, “No, thank you.”
“And I don’t understand why they would do that. The movie was great. Leave it at that,” he added, expressing his reluctance to revisit the beloved series.
Fellow actor Gary Oldman, who played Sirius Black in the films, had expressed interest in playing the Hogwarts headmaster, but Harris chose to distance himself from the TV series, although he acknowledged the possibility of exploring “a lot of the story” that was omitted from the films.
His father first brought the character of Dumbledore to life in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After Richard Harris died in 2002 at age 72, Michael Gambon took over as Dumbledore and played the role in the remaining film series. Gambon passed away in September 2023 at the age of 82.
On September 10, HBO launched an open casting call to play the lead roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the upcoming reboot. Applications are open to children aged 9 to 11 living in the UK and Ireland, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender.
The reboot will be helmed by Succession veterans Mark Mylod and Francesca Gardiner, with Mylod serving as director and Gardiner as writer.
Jared Harris has appeared in films such as Poltergeist, The Quiet Ones, Reawakening, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and Morbius. He has also appeared in TV series such as Chernobyl, The Crown, and Fringe. He currently plays Captain Francis Crozier in The Terror and Hari Seldon in Foundation. – Zulaikha Palma/Reported by Rappler.com
Zulaika Palma is a Rappler intern pursuing a journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.