John Lithgow confirms his role as Dumbledore in Harry Potter series

Earlier, we reported about John Lithgow being in talks to portray Albus Dumbledore in HBO's series adaptation of the Harry Potter books. Now, the actor has confirmed that he will play the role. During promotions for his new film The Rule of Jenny Penn, he spoke to ScreenRant, where he said, "It came as a total surprise to me. I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it's going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I'm afraid. But I'm very excited. 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."

While Lithgow has confirmed his role, HBO has not yet finalised it. In a statement, HBO said, "We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation. As we progress through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise deals."

Lithgow is the first actor to confirm that he will join the HBO series, which has been in development since 2021. He would be the fifth actor to portray Dumbledore in the overall Harry Potter universe. Richard Harris portrayed Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). After Harris' passing in 2002, Michael Gambon played the role in the rest of the films in the series. Jude Law played a middle-aged Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films. Toby Regbo portrayed young Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Lithgow's casting would also mean a departure from the tradition of only casting British actors in the Harry Potter adaptations. Francesca Gardiner is attached to the project as its showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Mark Mylod has been tapped as one of the directors. JK Rowling, the author of the seven Harry Potter books, is also onboard as an executive producer, as is Mylod.

John Lithgow is known for playing the notorious killer Arthur Mitchell in Dexter and Winston Churchill in Netflix's The Crown. On the film front, his popular credits include Interstellar, The Accountant, Bombshell, Killers of the Flower Moon, and most recently in Conclave.