"Harry Potter" series

‘Conclave’ star confirmed: Am the new Dumbledore

The late Michael Gambon played Albus Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films.(Bild: mptv / picturedesk.com)

He has just won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble alongside his "Conclave" co-stars Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes. Now he has confirmed his next - and probably biggest - role: He will be the new Dumbledore!

He knew immediately that this role would "stay with me for the rest of my life". According to John Lithgow, he was completely surprised when he was offered the role of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the new Harry Potter TV series on the streaming channel Max.

Last clapperboard falls at 87
The 79-year-old revealed on the website 'ScreenRant': "I never expected this. It wasn't an easy decision either, because I would be 87 at the end of the last clapperboard." But now he is just happy to have agreed, even though he will be almost completely booked up professionally for the next decade: "The team is wonderful and I can't wait to get started."

John Lithgow with the SAG Award for Best Cast(Bild: Jordan Strauss / AP / picturedesk.com)

The actor is following in the footsteps of Richard Harris (1930-2002) and Michael Gambon (1940-2023), who played the head of Hogwarts School of Magic and Harry Potter's mentor in the Harry Potter films.

Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes celebrate their success backstage at the SAG Awards.(Bild: AP/Jordan Strauss)

More detailed than movie sequels
In the new series, J.K. Rowling's seven books are to be covered in much more detail over ten seasons than in the movie sequels. The producers do not want to reveal who else will be involved apart from Lithgow.

In September, children between the ages of 9 and 11 in the UK and Ireland were invited to apply for the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Guest appearances for the old cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint seem to have been ruled out because they fell out with author Rowling over her anti-trans tweets.