John Lithgow Reveals Why He Accepted Dumbledore Role in HBO's Harry Potter Series, ‘Several Years of My Life...’

John Lithgow recently shared what he thought before taking over the role of the legendary character of Albus Dumbledore.

Written by Tejas Mundhada , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 14, 2025 | 07:21 AM GMT | 19.7K

John Lithgow about his Harry Potter role

John Lithgow (Getty)

John Lithgow is set to appear in two grand roles, one of which happens to be a huge responsibility and the other is making a return to Dexter as the Trinity Killer. The actor from Daddy's Home 2 recently reflected on the time he was offered the role of Albus Dumbledore.

Stating that accepting the offer for the wizarding series was a “huge decision because it involves the next several years of my life. And I’m not young. I mean, this is the last big role I’ll probably play,” John Lithgow said, adding that he is not aware of the original Harry Potter outings as “98% of the world’s population” is!

He then also mentioned that his first and most important question to the studio was, “What is new about this? Why do more with the canon when it’s already been done so well?” However, he added that HBO made the role look very fresh.

Addressing Dumbledore as a “complicated character,” John Lithgow added that the studio had described the role efficiently to him and now it is his job to discover more and further make it his "own.”

Talking about his predecessor, Michael Gambon, John mentioned that he happens to be a huge admirer of the former. Although he never got a chance to meet him, Lithgow stated that he has always idolized him, also adding that he and Michael Gambon share the same birth date. “I thought that was a kind of wizard-like touch,” he quipped.

The HBO series will feature the very details from the Harry Potter books that were missed in the movies, which even disappointed the core fans of JK Rowling's work.

Per reports, each season of HBO’s Harry Potter would focus on one particular book, which will give fans an in-depth exploration of the story.