John Lithgow is preparing to take on the role of a fan favorite literary character in the upcoming Harry Potter HBO TV series.
While speaking on the SmartLess podcast on Monday, the actor admitted that he’s “behind everybody” when it comes to knowing the series but doesn’t think the role of Albus Dumbledore in the reboot project will be “that hard.”
“The overall concept of this entire reboot of Harry Potter is an entire season is devoted to a single novel,” Lithgow said of the series, which HBO announced in April 2023. He shared that he’s “halfway through the second” novel right now as he’s educating himself on the story.
Given that the series will chronicle all seven books, host Sean Hayes asked Lithgow about the filming schedule and how much he’d be traveling, with the series expected to film in London. Lithgow didn’t yet know specifics but recalled how he spent a long time in the U.K. while filming The Crown.
“I honestly don’t know,” he told Hayes. “I mean, I was over in England for eight months for The Crown and barely came back [to the U.S.]. I think I may have come back once or twice. I imagine that I can come back much more.”
After it was announced that Lithgow would be taking on the role of the headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he said he has already experienced people approaching him public to ask about the adaptation.
“Can you believe this has already started?” Lithgow said. “The deal was only set, like, 48 hours ago, and in airports two weeks ago, somehow or other, people had gotten wind of this, and they were stopping me.”
When reflecting on the character, which was portrayed by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the franchise films, and traveling for the role Lithgow said, “You know, Dumbledore is — he’s kind of the nuclear weapon. He only goes on very, very occasionally. I don’t think it’s gonna be that hard a job, and, we’ll just go back and forth.”
In an interview with ScreenRant, Lithgow had first revealed that he said “yes” to playing Dumbledore in the small screen adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s hit books. The Hollywood Reporter had previously reported that Lithgow was in talks for the role.
“Well, it came as a total surprise to me,” the actor said. “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.”
The Harry Potter series is set to begin filming this summer and is described as a “more in-depth” adaptation of Rowling’s seven-book series compared to the films that starred Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
Francesca Gardiner is serving as the showrunner for the series, with Mark Mylod set to direct multiple episodes.