John Lithgow gears up to play ‘Harry Potter’ Dumbledore for couple of years

John Lithgow broke silence on playing the greatest wizard of all, Dumbledore in upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

In a recent podcast episode of Smartless, The Crown star shared his mixed feelings regarding the role’s long-term demand, saying, "The logistics are a little bit scary. I really did have to think hard about whether to take it on but I also thought, well, I'm about to turn 80 next year."

However, the Conclave actor also views it as a rewarding way to spend his later years as an actor. "If this is indeed a seven or eight-year long job, it’s a wonderful way to grow old as an actor."

He then quipped saying, "I mean, the alternative is to just be hauled out once a year to play an Alzheimer's patient [with] an awful lot of weeping middle-aged children, you know."

The six-time Emmy Award winner also shared that he does not expect playing the wizard would be "that hard a job."

"You know, Dumbledore, he's kind of this nuclear weapon," Lithgow explained. "He only goes off very, very occasionally. And I don't think it's gonna be that hard a job."

Apart from Lithgow no other casting details, especially for the main leads, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, have been announced yet. However, the upcoming series will be led by Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod.

In the 2000s Harry Potter, Dumbledore was played Richard Harris in first two film and after his death, Michael Gambon took over the role from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) onward. While Jude Law played a younger version of the wizard in the Fantastic Beasts prequel franchise.