Ian McKellen reveals why he turned down the chance to play Dumbledore
YOU SHALL NOT BE CAST!
Sir Ian McKellen has revealed why he didn’t want to play Harry Potter’s Professor Dumbledore.
McKellen – best known for playing another wizard, Gandalf the Grey/White in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – has said he couldn’t take over the Hogwarts headmaster role after the death of Richard Harris as he thought Harris wasn’t his biggest fan.
The Hobbit actor told BBC’s HARDtalk: “When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the Harry Potter films, they wouldn't say what part but I worked out what they were thinking. I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I know disapproved of me."
However, there’s a little consolation for McKellen: “Sometimes when I look at the posters of Michael Gambon, the actor that gloriously plays Dumbledore, I sometimes think it’s me. You know, we get asked for each other's autographs!"
But McKellen’s lucky to be confused for Dumbledore: the actor previously revealed he almost missed out on playing Gandalf AND X-Men’s Magneto after being offered a role in Mission Impossible 2. Fortunately, he turned down the chance of acting with Tom Cruise, opting to play the metal-bending mutant and Middle Earth’s most powerful wizard (soz, Saruman).
You can watch McKellen's full HARDtalk interview on BBC iPlayer
