John Lithgow is brushing aside concerns about his playing Albus Dumbledore in HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter series despite anti-trans rhetoric made by author J.K. Rowling, who also serves as an executive producer on the show.
Speaking with U.K. newspaper The Times, Lithgow said he has received a lot of feedback from friends and fans suggesting he shouldn’t have taken the role because of Rowling’s comments. He said he received a text from a friend who had sent him a link to an article titled “An Open Letter to John Lithgow: Please Walk Away From Harry Potter.” Before he had signed on for the role, he received another text from “a very good friend who is the mother of a trans child, and that was the canary in the coal mine.”
Asked if he expected the criticism, Lithgow replied: “No, absolutely not. Of course, it was a big decision because it’s probably the last major role I’ll play. It’s an eight-year commitment so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role.”
He continued: “I thought, why is this a factor at all? I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her and I’m curious to talk to her.”
Asked if the criticism had discouraged him, he replied: “Oh, heavens no.”
Lithgow said his only concern was actually whether the Harry Potter fanbase would accept an American playing Dumbledore, who is British.
He added that he’s confused about why there’s been such criticism about this, but none when he agreed to play author Roald Dahl, whose family has publicly apologized for his antisemitism, in the West End play Giant.
“No one complained when I agreed to play Dahl, but I’ve received so many messages about J.K. Rowling,” he said. “Isn’t that odd?”
When the Harry Potter series was announced in April 2023, the reaction was immediate, with outrage over Rowling’s involvement.
“J.K. is an executive producer, and her insights will be helpful,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, said at the time. “We are in the Harry Potter business. The TV show is new and exciting, but we’ve been in the Harry Potter business for 20 years; this isn’t a new decision. We’re comfortable being in the Potter business. J.K. is a very online conversation. … It’s very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into. Our priority is what’s onscreen. The Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive about love and acceptance, and that’s our priority, what’s on the screen.”
Rowling has made numerous comments about her feelings on transgender women in particular, most recently applauding a U.K. court decision to define women as those born biologically female. She also has argued that transgender athletes should not be allowed to take part in female-driven sports.
Celebrities including John Oliver and Pedro Pascal have criticized Rowling for her comments.
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