He’s not feeling the magic.
Emmy-nominated actor Jared Harris, whose late father Richard Harris played the original Dumbledore in the “Harry Potter” movies, isn’t thrilled about HBO’s impending TV reboot of the franchise.
In a recent interview with the Independent, when Harris was asked if he’d want to follow in his father’s footsteps and play Dumbledore, he said, “No, thank you.”
“Also, I mean, why do it?” he added.
“I don’t understand. The films were fantastic — leave them alone.”
Jared, 63, is an award-nominated actor, best known for “Mad Men,” “The Crown” and “Chernobyl.” His father, Richard, died at age 72 in 2022 of Hodgkin’s disease. Before his death, he played the Hogwarts headmaster and Harry’s mentor, Dumbledore, in the first two “Potter” films — “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
In later movies, Michael Gabom (who passed away in 2023) took over the role.
But, Jared also said that the TV show can cover “a lot of storytelling” that the movies weren’t able to include.
The original eight movies came out between 2001 and 2011.
In April, Max announced that the “Harry Potter” series will also get a TV adaptation.
“The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for,” the platform said in its press release about the show.
“The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years.”
Harris is just the latest star loosely affiliated with the “Potter” franchise to speak out about the show.
In May, original Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, 35, gave his opinion about the forthcoming “Harry Potter” TV series.
“I don’t think so,” he told E! News about whether he’ll appear in it.
“I think they very wisely want to [have] a clean break. And I don’t know if it would work to have us do anything in it.”
Radcliffe wasn’t completely against the idea of a TV show, however.
“I’m very happy to just watch along with everyone else,” he added.
In July 2023, he told ComicBook.com, “My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere.”
When asked if he’d want to appear in the show, he said, “I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way.”
Despite her controversies involving her comments about the transgender community, author J.K. Rowling will be involved in the Max series.
In June, HBO announced that the planned “Harry Potter” TV series had found its showrunner and executive producers: “Succession” alums Francesca Gardiner (who will write and executive produce) and Mark Mylod (also a “Game of Thrones,” alum, who will executive produce and direct several episodes).
Rowling took to X (formerly Twitter) to post that she’d “interviewed” both Gardiner and Mylod and was “thrilled to announce [them] as our director and writer.”
“Both have a genuine passion for #HarryPotter, and having read Francesca’s pilot script and heard Mark’s vision, I’m certain the TV show will more than live up to expectations,” Rowling shared.
James and Oliver Phelps, who played mischievous twins Fred and George Weasley in the movies, weren’t as quick as Radcliffe to shut down the possibility of appearing in the show.
“I suppose so. It’s one of those things where it’s never really a chapter closed in your life,” Oliver, 38, told The Post in July.
“Whether [we’d appear in the show as] our characters, that’s a totally different thing — we’re not quite looking like high schoolers anymore! If it does happen, we only know as much as you do. But, it’s nice that there’s a lot of intrigue around the show.”
James chimed in, “We’ve got a very close bond with a lot of the Potter cast. Because it’s like friends from high school or college. You’ve gone through a lot together.”
