Albus Dumbledore (Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore) is surely one of the favorite characters in J. K. Rowling’s fantasy novel series, Harry Potter. The film adaptations of the series have seen a few actors portray the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From Richard Harris to Michael Gambon, Jude Law, and Toby Regbo; Showbizers brings to you all the actors who have played the founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix.
The film series consists of eight films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). There are also Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022); the prequel films.
Richard Harris Was the First Actor to Play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Film Series
Richard Harris (October 1st, 1930 – October 25, 2002) portrayed Albus Dumbledore in the first two productions of the Harry Potter film series: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). As fate would have it, the latter became the last movie role of the late Irish actor and singer. In a career that spanned over four decades and a half, he portrayed several iconic characters and Dumbledore happens to be one of them.
Interestingly, he was neither the first nor second actor approached for the role. The producers first approached Sean Connery for the role but the late Scottish actor rejected the offer because he did not like what the film was all about. With Connery’s rejection, the offer went to the late Irish-American actor, Patrick McGoohan. He liked it but had to let it go because of his declining health.
Like McGoohan, Harris initially decided to not take the role because his health was in decline too. The story goes that his then 11-year-old granddaughter vowed to never speak to him again if he failed to portray the Order of the Phoenix leader. As grandparents are wont to do their grandkids’ bidding, Richard Harris took on the role and it was expected he would portray the character all through the film series.
That wouldn’t happen as he passed on before things were put in place for the third installment of the film series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Michael Gambon Replaced Richard Harris as Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Richard Harris had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when preparations were been made for Prisoner of Azkaban. He was hopeful to reprise the role and asked to be retained as the actor for Dumbledore. The actor however died on the 25th of October 2002 and it became imminent to recast the role. As was in the beginning, several actors were considered but Irish-English actor Michael Gambon eventually got the role.
Showbizers gathered that late English actor and singer Christopher Lee was the first actor handpicked to take over from Harris. He did not mind but was committed to playing Saruman and Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, respectively. With Lee’s conflicting schedule, English actor Ian McKellen was offered the role.
McKellen had no issues with playing Albus Dumbledore but for two reasons: he had played Gandalf which he described as the original Dumbledore and Harris once publicly named him among the actors he thought were wack. Apart from Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen, the late British actor, Peter O’Toole, and Harry Robinson were also considered for the role.
For the latter, it was because he doubled for Richard Harris in the first two Harry Potter films. The former only came into the picture because Harris’ family opined he was the ideal replacement. Harris and O’Toole were good friends but that’s a tale for another day. Anyways, Michael Gambon was ultimately cast to take over from Harris as the actor for Dumbledor. He went on to reprise the role in the remaining films of the Harry Potter series.
Jude Law Played Younger Dumbledore in the Spin-Off Prequels to the Harry Potter Films — The Fantastic Beasts Series
The second film series in the Wizarding World franchise began with 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It is the only film in the franchise that didn’t feature the Albus Dumbledore character. This is not the case with the subsequent installments of the Fantastic Beast series—Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).
English actor Jude Law played a younger Dumbledore in the two films. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his portrayal of the character, Law related that he did not study the previous Dumbledore actors’ portrayal of the role. It was thought wise to not impersonate Harris’ or Gambon’s portrayals but to construct a unique version of Dumbledore’s life as a young man.
Be that as it may, he admitted that he paid some attention to what Harris and Gambon did with the character. The English actor also disclosed that he gained meaningful insights about Albus Dumbledore’s life journey and how his mind works from Rowling. He had a talk with her when he started working on the second film of the Fantastic Beasts series.
Toby Regbo as Young Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Toby Regbo has also been seen as Young Albus Dumbledore. First in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and then in the second installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The first time the English actor appeared as Dumbledore went uncredited. He was credited for the second appearance in 2018 but he was only seen in flashback scenes. Because of this, Regbo is often not counted among the Dumbledore actors.
Given he was the first actor to appear as young Dumbledore, it was anticipated he would play the character in all the spin-off prequels of the films. It seems the director and producers needed a performer with robust experience for the role.
