And it turns out, McKellen feels the same. That said, I’m sure him playing Dumbledore would have been instantly iconic.Īnd even though McKellen didn’t actually play Dumbledore, I’m one of those people who always assumed he and Michael Gambon were one and the same. McKellen made the decision out of respect rather than bitterness or anger, and I doff my cap to him. Plus, did he really need Harry Potter when he had The Lord of the Rings? He knew Harris wasn’t a huge fan of his, and stepping into his shoes just didn’t feel right. Sometimes I like to watch Harry Potter reactions on YouTube, and you’d be amazed how many people don’t even notice that the Dumbledore actor changed. I couldn’t take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me.”Īpart from the shade about playing a “real” wizard, I respect McKellen’s decision to ultimately not take on the role. “When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the Harry Potter films, they wouldn’t say what part, I worked out what they were thinking. I played the real wizard,” McKellen said. “When he died, he played Dumbledore, the wizard. McKellen opted not to replace him because apparently Harris had been critical of McKellen’s work, calling him “technically brilliant, but passionless.” Because of that “nonsense” statement, McKellen was turned off by the idea of taking over for the role. In 2002, Harris passed away in between the filming of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
In an interview with the BBC, McKellen said that there was some drama with the late Harris that prevented him from playing Harry’s mentor.ĭrama, you say? Why Sir Ian McKellen turned down the role of Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter
Why didn’t he accept? There’s an interesting story behind that. He had the perfect look for this sort of role, so you probably won’t be surprised to learn that he was indeed approached to play Dumbledore after Harris passed away. The 82-year old grew his fanbase by a million-fold when he joined The Lord of the Rings films as Gandalf back in the early 2000s. Johnny Depp left the franchise earlier this year and has been replaced by. Richard Harriss interpretation differed in this respect, opting for a far calmer demeanour on his characters part. Fantastic Beasts 3: Trailer for third film The Secrets of Dumbledore released - as Mads Mikkelsen replaces Johnny Depp. Of course, McKellen didn’t take over - the role went to Michael Gambon - but it just makes sense, doesn’t it? He’s a wizard at playing wizards, after all. While Dumbledore is mostly described as 'calm' in the books, Michael Gambons Dumbledore appears far less so at times on some occasions raising his voice in a threatening or angry manner. Naseeruddin Shah’s biggest Hollywood role has been Captain Nemo in the critical and commercial failure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.There is a part of me that always assumed Sir Ian McKellen took over the role of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies following the death of Richard Harris, who played the Hogwarts headmaster in the first two films. Magneto and Gandalf actor Sir Ian McKellan was also rumoured to take on the role but he refused, citing differences he had previously has with Richard Harris. Read: This is misreporting: Naseeruddin Shah denies remark about Anupam Kher
But I wouldn’t audition for it,” said Shah. I was asked if I would like to audition for it. “My agent wanted me to audition for Dumbledore’s character after Richard Harris died. The role would eventually go to Michael Gambon, who played the Hogwarts headmaster for 6 Potter films. In a Twitter chat with The Times of India, Shah revealed that after Harris died after completing work on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second film in the series, his agent wanted him to audition for the part. Now, in a recent interview, Naseeruddin Shah revealed how he almost became ‘The Chosen One.’ Naseeruddin Shah’s biggest Hollywood role has been Captain Nemo in the critical and commercial failure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. There were many actors in the running to play Harry Potter’s mentor Albus Dumbledore after original actor Richard Harris died.
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