Original Dumbledore Actor's Son Questions HBO's HARRY POTTER Series "Why Do It? The Films Were Fantastic. Leave Them Alone."

Jared Harris (Mad Men, Chernobyl), who is also the son of original Dumbledore actor Richard Harris, has taken his name out of the running to play the legendary Harry Potter wizard in HBO and Max’s upcoming television series based on J.K. Rowling’s book series.

The actor was asked about playing Dumbledore during an interview on the The Independent series “Go to Bat,” to which he responded: “No, thank you. Also, I mean, why do it? I don’t understand,” Jared added. “The films were fantastic – leave them alone.”

Jared is not interested in taking on his father’s beloved role, although he admitted to the publication that “a lot of storytelling” was left out of the original Harry Potter film franchise and will now be able to be filmed due to the expanded runtime of the HBO series. Each season of the show will cover one of Rowling’s books.

This is the exact reason that I, and many other fans, are excited about this series! I know how it feels to see something I love recast, and that’s hard when you love the original.

But everyone who loved the books knows that when watching the films, especially once you got into book 4, fans knew the story was missing a whole lot. This series will really dive into those details that were skipped for time in the films.

Francesca Gardiner, who produced Succession, His Dark Materials and Killing Eve, is serving as showrunner of the new Harry Potter series. Fellow Succession alum Mark Mylod is attached as an executive producer and is set to direct multiple episodes.

Richard Harris originated the role of Dumbledore in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and reprised the character in 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The latter film served as Richard’s last acting role. He died in October 2002 at 72 years old. Michael Gambon took over the role of Dumbledore for the rest of the film franchise.

While Jared is not interested in playing Dumbledore, Harry Potter actor Gary Oldman recently made headlines for saying he’d be open to playing the wizard “maybe in a few years.” Oldman starred as Sirius Black in the film franchise.

This could be a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing who they cast in the iconic roles, and seeing one of my favorite book series play out in a more in depth way on screen.

The Harry Potter series is looking at a 2026 debut on HBO and MAX.

via: Variety