Shortly before his death from Hodgkin’s disease in October 2002, legendary Irish actor Richard Harris had a visitor in the hospital. It was Chris Columbus, who directed the first two films in the massively popular Harry Potter movie franchise. Harris portrayed the all-knowing wizard Albus Dumbledore in both movies, and he made it clear to Columbus he intended to return for the third film.
“If you ever replace me, I’ll f––ing kill you,” Harris, then 72, half-jokingly warned.
Columbus thought Harris looked a bit thin but otherwise in good spirits and reassured Harris that he wouldn’t be replaced. Ten days later, however, the actor was dead, and director Alfonso Cuarón was forced to choose a replacement. Christopher Lee, Sean Connery, and Ian McKellen were among those considered for the part, but they each ultimately turned it down.
The role ended up going to one of Harris’ old drinking buddies: Michael Gambon, who himself died Thursday at age 82 after suffering from pneumonia. Gambon went on to play Dumbledore in six films, putting his own personal stamp on the character, highlighting the playful and lively aspects of the character, as opposed to Harris’ more regal, stoic performance.
Watch Michael Gambon’s first appearance as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Born in Dublin, Gambon enjoyed an acclaimed six-decade career on stage and screen, from his days with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre to his knighting by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. But his performance as the eccentric Hogwarts headmaster is arguably his most widely remembered role. His path to earning the Dumbledore role was equally unusual.
The Original Dumbledore
Richard Harris was reluctant to join the Harry Potter series at first, turning down the part three times before accepting. The role required a multi-film commitment, and with his advanced age and declining health, Harris felt “that’s not how I wanted to spend the last years of my life.”
However, his young granddaughter was such a fan of the J.K. Rowling novels that she “begged” him to accept the role, and he relented. “We wanted an actor who had weight and distinction,” Harry Potter movie producer David Heyman said. “Richard had real strength and a sense of danger about him, but he was also mischievous with a twinkle in his eye.”
As it turned out, Harris loved working on the movies, according to Richard Harris: Raising Hell and Reaching for Heaven by Joe Jackson. Initially concerned the use of visual effects and green screens would make filming an “ordeal,” Harris instead found the shooting schedule to be pleasant, and particularly enjoyed working with young actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
“I’ll never forget the first cast reading,” Harris said, according Jackson’s biography. “After I read, one boy said, ‘I think you will be rather good in this, Mr. Harris!’ He obviously hadn’t a clue who I was. I burst out laughing.”
Searching for a New Dumbledore
Harris died on October 25, 2002, just three weeks before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie was released, leaving Cuarón the unenviable job of recasting him for the next movie. Christopher Lee was the leading contender, but he quickly turned it down, saying: “I consider this matter in very bad taste. The man had only been dead for about 10 days when this gossip started to go round.”
Sean Connery was considered for the part, but he claimed he had “no interest in joining a children’s movie about wizards.” Ian McKellen was also approached, but he felt the character was too similar to his performance as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films. The fact that Harris had previously criticized McKellen as “technically brilliant but passionless” was also a factor.
“Seeing as one of the last things [Harris] did publicly was say what a dreadful actor he thought I was, it would not have been appropriate for me to take over his part,” McKellen said. He added a little jab of his own, alluding to his Lord of the Rings role in suggesting Harris might have been “a little upset that I had landed the superior wizard on screen.”
Harris’ family hoped the late actor’s close friend Peter O’Toole would take over the role, but the legendary English actor felt it would be too “intrusive” for him to play the part so soon after Harris’ death, and the Harry Potter producers feared his advanced age would make it difficult for him to appear in multiple films. Recasting Dumbledore was proving to be a challenge.
Gambon Takes the Role
Four months after Harris’ death, Cuarón finally selected Gambon for the role. Gambon and Harris had been drinking buddies in their younger days but never worked together. While some might have felt pressure taking on a well-known role from such a highly regarded actor, Gambon said there were no preconceived notions about imitating Harris’ performance.
“No one ever spoke to me about it. Not a word,” Gambon said. Instead, he created his own interpretation of the role. In contrast to the gentle, kind old wizard Harris portrayed, Gambon brought an edginess to the role, making Dumbledore more mischievous and unpredictable.
“He’s not necessarily precious and regal,” Cuarón said. “He’s funky and could seem a little shabby, a little distracted, but actually he’s completely in control of everything. And that’s why we thought Michael Gambon would be fantastic.”
Like Cuarón, Gambon didn’t read the Harry Potter novels, basing his Dumbledore performance solely upon the scripts and his own reading of the character. He added traces of his own Irish accent to the character, in part as a nod to Harris, a fellow Irishman. Gambon’s performance was largely praised; McKellen said he played the part “gloriously.”
“I don’t have to play anyone really,” Gambon said of his Dumbledore role. “I just stick on a beard and play me, so it’s no great feat. I never ease into a role; every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I’m not really a character actor at all.”
Harry Potter fans remain divided over which of the two acclaimed actors played the best Dumbledore. Although many have noted Gambon had a wildly different interpretation of the famous wizard, the actor modestly gave most of the credit to Harris during a speech in 2012, when Gambon received the Richard Harris Award in recognition of his distinguished career.
“All I did was copy Richard,” Gambon said.
Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy. He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.
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