Ian McKellen is known for his sharp discernment, even when it means turning down among the most high-profile gigs. In a BBC HARDtalk interview, he took a visit down reminiscence lane, revealing why he rejected the coveted function of Dumbledore within the Harry Potter franchise—a choice that also raises eyebrows amongst followers.
After Richard Harris, who initially performed the smart headmaster in Harry Potter, handed away in 2002, McKellen appeared the pure option to fill these iconic robes. However McKellen turned down the function, citing Harris’s robust disapproval of him because the core purpose. “I couldn’t take over the half from an actor I had identified didn’t approve of me,” McKellen mentioned candidly.
Their feud, if one might name it that, had delicate beginnings however ran deep sufficient to affect McKellen’s resolution. Harris had as soon as dismissed McKellen, together with actors Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh, as “technically sensible however passionless”—an announcement that didn’t sit effectively with McKellen. In typical vogue, he didn’t shrink back from addressing the remark. “Yeah. Nonsense,” McKellen remarked, shrugging off the critique together with his trademark wit. He even joked that, whereas Harris had merely “performed a wizard,” he had performed “the true wizard” in The Lord of the Rings franchise as Gandalf.
This refusal was greater than skilled etiquette; it was McKellen’s means of honoring Harris’s reminiscence whereas respecting their inventive variations. As he put it, entering into the function of Dumbledore felt unfair to each of them, particularly given Harris’s public opinion of his performing. “Seeing as one of many final issues [Harris] did publicly was say what a dreadful actor he thought I used to be, it might not have been acceptable for me to take over his half,” McKellen later mentioned in a 2007 interview. “It could have been unfair.”
McKellen’s alternative provides a pinch of Hollywood drama that evokes shades of the notorious Bette Davis-Joan Crawford rivalry. Nonetheless, McKellen shunned pettiness, refusing to observe in Crawford’s footsteps by embracing a job her rival had left behind. As an alternative, he handed on the chance, paving the way in which for Michael Gambon, who finally took over Dumbledore’s function and, in line with McKellen, did so “gloriously.”
This complicated relationship wasn’t with out its moments of humor. Shortly after Harris’s passing, McKellen penned a short but memorable tribute to the actor on his web site. He recalled first assembly Harris in 1992 on the Sundown Marquis in Los Angeles: “He was within the bar, consuming soda with two miniature poodles at his toes. He was like a personality in a Jacques Tati film.” The scene captured Harris’s distinctive character, quirks and all. Reflecting on Harris’s earlier criticism, McKellen added a wry remark: “I supposed he is likely to be a bit upset that I had landed the superior wizard on display screen.” But he rounded off his tribute respectfully, acknowledging, “To die supported by acclaim and a gentle job is greater than most actors dare hope for, even great ones like Harris.”
Ultimately, McKellen’s resolution to say no the function of Dumbledore stands as a testomony to his ideas and his respect for his craft. Whereas followers should surprise what Harry Potter would have appeared like with Gandalf as Dumbledore, McKellen’s wit and honesty have ensured that this Hollywood “what-if” stays as charming as it’s intriguing.
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