Actor rumoured to star as Dumbledore in Harry Potter series says ‘the films should be left alone’

He has made his feelings clear

HBO and Max’s upcoming television series based on J.K. Rowling’s book series has been a hot topic of debate recently as fans are divided over the remake.

Jared Harris, who is best known for his roles in Mad Men and Chernobyl was asked about the possibility of playing Dumbledore during an interview on The Independent series ‘Go to Bat’.

He simply responded: “No, thank you.”

His father, Richard, originated the role of Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The second film was his last acting role as Harris died in 2002. Michael Gambon then took over the role of Dumbledore for the rest of the franchise.

He continued: “Also, I mean, why do it? I don’t understand. The films were fantastic – leave them alone.”

The 63-year-old admitted that ‘a lot of storytelling’ was left out of the original Harry Potter films which will now be included due to the expanded runtime of the HBO series as each series will follow one of Rowling’s books.

Francesca Gardiner, who produced Succession, His Dark Materials and Killing Eve, is serving as showrunner of the new series.

Mark Mylod who Gardiner worked with on Succession is acting as an executive producer and is set to direct multiple episodes.

Gary Oldman, who originated the role of Sirius Black in the film franchise, recently expressed an interest in playing Dumbledore.

A casting call has officially opened for the show’s three leads: Harry, Ron and Hermione.

The casting call is looking for children who will be between the ages of 9-11 in April 2025 and who are residents of the UK and Ireland. 

The notice says that casting will be inclusive of all races, ethnicities and gender identities.