5 Dumbledore actors already, but something about John Lithgow is the missing piece

We finally heard what John Lithgow's Albus Dumbledore sounds like in the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Even though Lithgow is an American, it seems that he has gotten rid of his native accent for the popular fictional British wizard. It should be noted that this is not the first time that Lithgow has been cast as a British figure, and he portrayed it perfectly.

Ever since the character's first appearance in the first book, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has been played by five different actors. But it seems that we might have finally gotten the perfect blend of Richard Harris's calm wisdom and Michael Gambon's physicality in John Lithgow.

Here are some of the reasons why John Lithgow might be the missing piece for Dumbledore that fans always wanted:

Here are some of the aspects that make John Lithgow a perfect fit for Albus Dumbledore:

Lithgow's aura harkens back to Richard Harris's version

While Michael Gambon's Dumbledore has his fans, his portrayal of the Hogwarts headmaster is divisive since the memed scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This one scene had many fans point out that Richard Harris's Dumbledore would've been just as calm as the book counterpart in the scene where he questions Harry after the young boy's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire.

While Gambon mellowed down in the later movies, he was still aggressive throughout his entire tenure in the Harry Potter film franchise. Therefore, it felt refreshing to have a calmer Dumbledore in the HBO series, as Lithgow seems to channel Richard Harris's energy that would make Harry trust the Hogwarts headmaster, which is central to the first six books of the entire series.

John Lithgow's Dumbledore seems to be smarter

One of the recurring criticisms of the Harry Potter franchise since Deathly Hallows' publication almost 20 years ago is that Dumbledore seems inactive and passive for the first four books. This criticism is fuelled by the revelation in the seventh book that Dumbledore was aware that Voldemort would eventually return.

Therefore, the March teaser for the HBO series countered this criticism with a moment that saw John Lithgow's Albus Dumbledore investigating something with a tuning fork in his hand. Moreover, leaked images from last October also showed Albus meeting Nicolas Flamel, a moment that happened off-screen or off-page in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone book.

This moment probably involves Dumbledore convincing Flamel to destroy the Philosopher's Stone, hinting that the headmaster was aware of Voldemort's designs from the start.

This scene could also suggest that the HBO series will see Dumbledore investigating Voldemort's Horcruxes as soon as he gets the diary from Harry in season 2.

Lithgow has the twinkle in his eyes

The latest Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone trailer highlights why we fell in love with Dumbledore in the first place. He is smiling and calm throughout the entirety of the trailer. This is something we have been missing from adaptations of Dumbledore since Richard Harris's tragic passing in October 2002.

While you might bring up Jude Law's portrayal in the two Fantastic Beasts movies, it should be noted that their lukewarm reception meant his portrayal was largely overlooked. Thus, it was genuinely refreshing to see a likeable Dumbledore on the screen roughly two decades after the Harry Potter film franchise's debut. We can even notice the twinkle in Lithgow's eyes, which is an important aspect for the character.

This makes us hope that we experience the moment from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire book, in which Harry notices a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes. In that moment, The Boy Who Lived informs the Headmaster that Voldemort returned in a new body using Harry's blood. This twinkle would subtly foreshadow why Harry can eventually survive Voldemort's killing curse in the adaptation of the last book.

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