Recently the world of Harry Potter lost one of its most well known actors, that being Sir Michael Gambon. The 82 year old actor passed away on September 27th after a battle with pneumonia. Despite acting since the 1960s, he is perhaps best known for playing the role of the Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore from 2004 – 2011.
Gambon took the role after the original actor, Richard Harris, who played the character from 2001 – 2002, passed away at the age of 72 (coincidentally, he also passed due to pneumonia).
The recasting, while necessary, can be seen as two different eras of the franchise. Not only due to the change in wardrobe but also the more darker tone the series would follow after the more light-hearted first and second films.
However, Michael Gambon wasn’t Warner Bros.’ first choice when it came to recasting the iconic wizard. While names like Sean Connery and Christopher Lee were mentioned, one actor in particular was of interest due to his portrayal of another popular wizard.
Ian McKellen, known for playing Gandalf in the popular Peter Jack Lord of the Rings Trilogy from 2001 – 2003, was approached to take over the role from Harris. However, he turned down the offer, which led to Gambon getting it instead.
Now, why would McKellen turn down such a role? The opportunity to play two great wizards in literature would have added to his list of accomplishments. However, he apparently had a good reason for doing so.
In an interview with the BBC in 2017, he stated that Richard Harris had lumped him in with Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh and apparently said, “these men are technically brilliant, but passionless.”
McKellen then said:
“And when he died, he played Dumbledore of course, the wizard (I played the real wizard), when they called me up and said would I be interested in the Harry Potter films they didn’t say what part. I worked out what they were thinking, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t take over the part from an actor who I had known didn’t approve of me.“
He even joked about the similarities between his portrayal of Gandalf and Gambon’s take on Dumbledore:
“Well, sometimes when I see the posters of Mike Gambon, the actor who gloriously plays Dumbledore, I think sometimes it is me.“
What do you think? Should McKellen have accepted the role, or was it right for him to let Gambon get his opportunity?
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