The six-time Emmy-winner, 79, becomes the fourth actor to play the old wise wizard after Michael Gambon, who put on the half-moon spectacles after original actor Richard Harris died following Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Headmaster Dumbledore is the main guardian of young Harry, but famously – spoiler alert – dies in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, at the hands of double spy Professor Severus Snape.
John Lithgow has revealed he has been cast as Albus Dumbledore in the HBO Harry Potter series after weeks of speculation.
Dumbledore is a major character in the story of Harry Potter; an orphaned boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs until he discovers he’s a famous wizard with a big old target on his back.
Lithgow is currently in the news for his Oscar contender film Conclave, but is known for previous roles in The Crown, The Old Man, Killers of the Flower Moon, Interstellar, Dexter, Shrek, Footloose, The World According to Garp, Cliffhanger and Love is Strange.
