There’s no need for a revelio spell here.
John Lithgow has fully stepped into his role as Professor Albus Dumbledore on set of the upcoming HBO “Harry Potter” television series.
On Tuesday, the actor, 79, was spotted filming the show while sporting a long, white beard, and an oversized robe.
Lithgow stood on a beach and also donned a pair of glasses, which lay on the bridge of his nose – true to Dumbledore form.
This marks the first time the star has been spotted filming for the project, which started production in July.
The cast has been shooting around England for the past three months.
Other on location images captured Dominic McLaughlin, who plays Harry Potter, and Nick Frost, who portrays Rubeus Hagrid.
Lithgow’s casting was first announced in February, with fans immediately approving Hogwarts newest additon.
After Pop Base posted the news to X, one user wrote: “He is perfect for the role!” while a second chimed in, “A brilliant actor in drama and comedy, I think he’ll make a great wizard! It would be amazing if the show goes 9 seasons!”
Rounding out the sweet commentary, one follower quipped: “John Lithgow as Dumbledore? A magical casting choice for sure.”
Lithgow himself confirmed the news in an interview with ScreenRant at the time.
“It came as a total surprise to me,” he confessed. “I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid.”
“I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to ‘Harry Potter,’” continued Lithgow. “That’s why it’s been such a hard decision. I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”
The series is set to premiere in 2026 with each season being adapted from one of J.K. Rowling’s seven “Harry Potter” books. If the show does one season per year for all seven books, Lithgow would wrap the adaptation in 2033 at age 87.
Dumbledore has a long history of being played by iconic Hollywood vets. In the first two “Harry Potter” films, the original professor was portrayed by Richard Harris. Michael Gambon then took over the role after Harris died in 2002.
Jude Law, meanwhile, played the younger version of Dumbledore in two “Fantastic Beasts” prequels.
The main trio of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley were all from the UK, but Lithgow is American. Casting this time around is much wider than the first eight films.
Along with Lithgow and McLaughlin, HBO’s new “Harry Potter” series cast Arabella Stanton in the role of Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
“After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron,” the series’ director Mark Mylod and showrunner Francesca Gardiner shared at the time.
“The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen,” the pair continued. “We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
The three young stars are all newcomers in the industry, with McLaughlin’s previous acting credit being in the movie “Grow.”
Stanton, meanwhile, played Matilda in “Matilda The Musical” in London’s West End.
Rowling is also involved in the series this time around, despite her history of anti-transgender rhetoric.
HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed in a November press event that Rowling, 59, is an executive producer on the show.
“She’s been fairly involved — she was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and the director,” the CEO told reporters at the time.
“I imagine she’ll have opinions on casting,” Bloys continued. “It hasn’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff or anything, so we haven’t felt any impact from that.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
