Dumbledore Casting Rumors
January 31, 2003 at 9:01 PM ET
TheSnitch.co.uk
dumbledore, richard harris, dumbledore casting, dumbledore replacement, prisoner of azkaban, third harry potter movie
Question: I've heard the name Terence Stamp mentioned for the part of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter sequels, but isn't he the actor who played in a couple of spaghetti Westerns in the '60s/'70s with titles like They call me Nobody and Nobody's still my name? They were pretty funny ? kind of comedic take-offs of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti Westerns ? but I can't imagine him as Dumbledore. What about his accent? Also, isn't Ian McKellen, who's also mentioned as a possible Dumbledore, tied up? ? Beverly
FlickChick: First, let's get the hard news out of the way: The role of Professor Dumbledore has been cast (for early gossip about potential replacement Dumbledores, please see my column of December 5, 2002) with English actor Michael Gambon. The news was announced at the end of December 2002. Although he's not a marquee name in the U.S., Gambon is a veteran character actor whose credits include Gosford Park (2001), The Insider and Sleepy Hollow (both 1999) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989) ? he's the brutal, bullying thief. As to Ian McKellen, the Lord of the Rings films were all shot simultaneously, so even though the third film doesn't open until Winter 2003, the live action shooting is wrapped. He's a very busy actor, but I'm sure that if Warners had wanted him to play Dumbledore and he had wanted the part, schedules could have been worked out. He has left the door open to playing some other part in one of the future Harry Potter pictures. Finally, you're thinking of Italian actor Mario Girotti, the son of a German mother and an Italian father, who appeared in a number of Italian Westerns ? including the Nobody films ? under the anglicized name Terence Hill. With his fair complexion and light hair and eyes, Italian producers saw him as ideal casting for American cowboy parts. English actor Terence Stamp made his movie debut in Billy Budd (1962), and was best known during the '60s for his fine-boned good looks and his off-camera carousing. Stamp has worked steadily for the better part of four decades, and every once in a while gets a role that reminds people just how good an actor he really is: Most recently, that role was the lead in The Limey (1999). He would have made a terrific Professor Dumbledore, but there's no use speculating now.
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yup! we already have our Dumbledore!
..::aggie::..
