Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Star John Lithgow once again clarifies his views on JK Rowling.
The actor, who plays Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO series, spoke out New Yorker Radio Hour Last week about the fantasy writer, who has been widely criticized for her trans views.
Explaining why he took on the role, the 80-year-old actor said: “There was everything attractive about career and job security in my later years. You know, you don’t ignore those issues. The whole thing of Rowling’s attributable bias, it kind of came up after everything was already underway. I actually said yes.”
As he previously expressed, Lithgow said he was urged to walk away from the project, but “I wasn’t about to do it.”
“I felt that my reasons for doing this were much stronger than my reasons for protesting what Rowling did and said,” Lithgow added. “I don’t agree with a lot of it. I think a lot of it has been twisted and twisted, and she’s compounded it at her own expense.”
Lithgow did not explain what had been misrepresented about Rowling’s views. He also said that he met with the creator and executive producer about the character and suggested that she was not heavily involved in the series.
News follows Harry Potter Trailer breaks records for HBO, with 277 million views in 48 hours (which is slightly less impressive than Amazon’s first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Obtaining 257 million views within 24 hours in 2022).
Lithgow’s comments also come on the heels of actor Andrew Garfield defending watching the Harry Potter films despite Rowling’s views. “I know we shouldn’t be putting money into the pocket of inhumane legislation right now with ‘She Who Shall Remain Nameless,’ but the spirit and spirit of those movies…kids are so good,” Garfield said. “And all the craftsmen – I’m working with an amazing makeup artist at the moment, Claire[[Lou Visconti]Who used to work in the creature workshop [on the films]. And I’m like, man, we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, there’s a lot of beautiful artists who worked on those movies.
Rowling also recently responded to a fan who wrote that the trailer “looks absolutely amazing.” “It would be incredible,” Rowling replied. “I’m so happy about it.”
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone It also stars Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Papa Essidu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Hagrid (here’s the full cast).
Francesca Gardiner (succession(He is the showrunner and Mark Milhaud)game of thrones) will direct several episodes.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Christmas 2026 premieres on HBO and will stream exclusively on HBO Max.
