Jared Harris on Fantastic Beasts Dumbledore role: They’re obviously thinking about it

Fans are calling for the actor to play the wizard in the sequel
Magical role: Jared Harris talks Albus Dumbledore
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Emma Powell25 November 2016
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Jared Harris has spoken out about taking on the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel.

Fans have been calling for Harris to play the character ever since Harry Potter director David Yates and producer David Heyman confirmed that a younger version of the wizard will make his debut in the second film.

Harris – whose late father Richard Harris played the wizard in the first two Harry Potter films – said he hasn’t been approached by film bosses, but believes they are “thinking about it”.

Speaking to Standard Online he said: “They’re obviously thinking about it. I haven’t heard anything and I don’t expect to. It’s not up to me.”

Wizarding world: Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore (Warner Bros)

But the actor said he was sceptical about film bosses considering the pleas of fans.

“Having seen [fan campaigns] before I find that [film bosses] don’t like to have their hands forced,” he said. “These campaigns almost always go in a different direction.”

Fans are desperate to find out who will play Dumbledore when he meets his old friend Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) in the next instalment and tweeted their requests at J. K. Rowling.

One fan tweeted: “Never realized that Jared Harris was Richard Harris' son. Doesn't he kind of have to be Young Dumbledore? #Dumbledore.”

Another wrote: “If we're going to get a lot more @FantasticBeasts films, I demand that Jared Harris play young Dumbledore.”

Harris – who played King George VI in Netflix’s The Crown – was speaking ahead of the release of his latest film, Allied.

Harris plays Officer Frank Heslop in Robert Zemeckis’ World War II drama which follows assassins Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) and Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) as they fall in love.

Harris said he was “absolutely” looking forward to reuniting with Pitt, saying: “He’s a funny charming guy and like all actors he’s passionate about what he’s doing and getting it right, but at the same time he has a laugh.”

Allied is in cinemas now.

Fantastic Beasts Posters

1/10

Follow @StandardEnts or like us on Facebook for more entertainment news.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in