Hogwarts’ famed headmaster Albus Dumbledore, brought to life by Irish actor Richard Harris, and subsequently Irish-English actor Michael Gambon after the former’s death, will be portrayed by American actor John Lithgow. Lithgow’s past credits include Footloose, Shrek, Dreamgirls, Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, The Crow, Interstellar, Killers of the Flower Moon, and, more recently, Conclave.
Speaking to Collider, the actor confirmed he’d take on an English accent for the role. saying: “[Dumbledore’s] certainly an Englishman. In fact, there’s a good deal of controversy that an American has been hired to play him. He’s such an icon. I’m half-English. I’ve just played Roald Dahl. I’ve played Winston Churchill. I’ll spend some time with a dialect coach, don’t worry about that. But no, I mean, Dumbledore couldn’t possibly be anything other than English. I just have to do my best. The wonderful thing is, I was welcomed by every English actor I worked with on The Crown. They had far more confidence in me and my Englishness than I did myself.”
Janet McTeer is Minerva McGonagall
Composite: Getty Images, ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
English actor Janet McTeer will follow in late Maggie Smith’s footsteps in portraying Minerva McGonagall — Hogwarts’ deputy headmistress, professor of Transfiguration, and head of Gryffindor House.
63-year-old McTeer’s credits include Wuthering Heights, Maleficent, Insurgent, Sense & Sensibility, Jessica Jones, Ozark, KAOS, Me Before You, Gangs of London, and more recently, MobLand and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. She also appeared alongside OG Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in 2012’s The Woman in Black.
Paapa Essiedu is Severus Snape
Composite: Getty Images, ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
