Jared Harris, son of Richard Harris, who originated the role of Dumbledore in the Warner Bros. Harry Potter franchise, doesn’t see the need for HBO‘s television reboot.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Jared Harris — who followed in his late father’s footsteps with credits in Mad Men and Chernobyl (from HBO), garnering Emmy nominations for each project — emphatically dismissed the idea of portraying the beloved mentor character.
“No, thank you,” he said simply, when asked if he would consider playing Dumbledore on the small screen. (The twice Oscar-nominated Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first two movies prior to his death in 2002, at which time Michael Gambon was tapped for the role.)
He continued, “Also, I mean, why do it? I don’t understand. The films were fantastic – leave them alone.”
At the same time, The Crown actor did acknowledge that the show, which will likewise be inspired by J.K. Rowling’s books of the same name, will likely contain “a lot of storytelling,” as TV naturally allows for more space and time with characters and plot points.
As previously reported by Deadline, the HBO series, due in 2026, launched a casting call for the iconic (and often trouble-making) trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley earlier this month, looking for child actors between 9 and 11. The creative team includes Succession duo Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod as writer and director, respectively. Gardiner will also serve as showrunner, with both executive producing.
HBO and Max Content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has lofty goals for the project, which he stated would run for 10 consecutive years, overturning previous thinking that the project would draw on Rowling’s seven books for an equivalent number of seasons.
In contrast to Harris’ comments, Gary Oldman — who portrayed Potter’s memorable godfather Sirius Black in the movies — said he wouldn’t mind returning to the Wizarding World, saying recently, “Maybe in a few years, I could do Dumbledore.”