As the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series gets filmed, more and more netizens have questioned cast members for being part of the show, given the anti-trans opinions of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novel series. Since she is an executive producer of the show and will undoubtedly benefit from its success, many netizens do not want to support it.Due to the same reasons, John Lithgow, who has been cast as Albus Dumbledore in the show, has been under scrutiny. Netizens have questioned why he is associated with the project despite Rowling's transphobic comments. Lithgow has opened up about it in a recent interview.John Lithgow on his casting as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter At the 55th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, John Lithgow was asked to speak on him taking on the role of Albus Dumbledore despite J. K. Rowling's hateful comments about the trans community. As The Hollywood Reporter reported, Lithgow spoke about it, saying,“I take the subject and the issue extremely seriously. J.K. Rowling has created this amazing canon for young people, young kids’ literature that has jumped into the consciousness of society. Young and old people love Harry Potter and the Harry Potter stories. It’s so much about acceptance. It’s about good versus evil. It’s about kindness versus cruelty. It’s deeply felt.” View this post on Instagram Instagram PostJohn Lithgow, as an artist, has decided to focus on the character he has been cast as and the story rather than the author. While one can choose not to associate oneself with anything Harry Potter due to Rowling's actions, one may also look at the art separately from the artist. Besides, as Lithgow points out later, the books do not have transphobia in them at all and are based on kindness and good winning over evil, which is what he is choosing to focus on. Lithgow also said,“I find it ironic and somewhat inexplicable that Rowling has expressed such views,”He continued,“I’ve read about them, and I’ve never met her. She’s not really involved in this production at all. The people who are re-adapting Harry Potter and turning it into an eight-year-long TV series are remarkable. … These are people I really want to work with.”As Lithgow pointed out, Rowling isn't really part of the show's production on the ground level. She might just be an executive producer on paper and might not get involved in the production later on, either. Thus, Lithgow has no issues working on the show, as Rowling doesn't decide what happens on set anyway, and the ones that do are people Lithgow likes to work with. He also explained,“Of course, it upsets me when people are vehemently opposed to my having anything to do with this. But if you read through the Harry Potter canon, you see absolutely no trace of transphobic sensibility. She has written this great meditation on kindness and empathy and acceptance, which is why it’s so strange to me.” View this post on Instagram Instagram PostFinally, speaking about why Albus Dumbledore is special to him, and why, despite all the controversy around the franchise, he chose to play the character and signed on to an eight-year contract, John Lithgow said,“Dumbledore is a beautiful role. There’s so much more to it than I even realized, mainly because of these people who are creating the series. So it was a hard decision on the basis of that [controversy], and it made me very uncomfortable and unhappy that people were actively insisting that I walk away from this job. But I chose not to do that.”It will be interesting to see what John Lithgow brings to the character of Dumbledore. Lithgow is an acclaimed actor who has worked across genres, and thus seeing him play a legendary character who is known for his wisdom and depth is going to be great for most Harry Potter fans.The Harry Potter series is set to be released on HBO in 2027.For more articles like this, follow Soapcentral.