As a long-time fan of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I knew the new cast of actors for the upcoming HBO TV adaptation would face many hurdles. It's no easy task taking over such beloved characters in a high-profile series. However, what I didn’t expect were all the awkward problems John Lithgow had to face as Dumbledore, and it mostly came down to sporting one of the most recognizable wizard’s beards in pop culture.
John Lithgow recently chatted with Today opened up about how tough it was to rock the chin curtain. With his usual laid-back vibe, he talked about how the beard got snagged on just about everything. He shared:
The beard goes down to my knees. It gets tangled in my buttons and my fly. It's just impossible.
Yikes. I guess manscaping as a powerful wizard carries just as many annoyances as it does for us bearded folk in the Muggle world. I wouldn’t have even considered the challenges a beard of that length might introduce, especially when it's time to hit the restroom. But with his signature smile and charm, the 3rd Rock from the Sun star seems barely bothered by the extra work the floor-length face-fungus presented him during his time on the new book-to-screen adaptation.
Article continues belowWhat I found particularly interesting was the way in which Lithgow described his time on the set of Hogwarts. When asked about the magic he must have felt stepping into the world created for the show, he recalled:
You cannot even imagine. They have created Hogwarts up there in Leavesden Studios. A lot of it is left over from the movie days, but they have just brilliantly expanded — created a world. And to enter into that world, it's kind of breathtaking, working with just completely expert people.
That explanation really piqued my interest. From the start, fans have known that HBO wants to keep the new show separate from the Harry Potter film series, establishing its own identity. What’s cool is that they seem to be using some leftover sets from the “movie days,” as the Blow Out star put it. It’s pretty common for productions to recycle sets and props from other shows, but I thought this little detail from the interview was a fun tidbit to note.
I never considered how much thought went into making sure Lithgow chose the right way to portray Dumbledore before filming his first scene. He mentioned that his initial scene for the series was the opening one at Privet Drive:
[I was] terrified. The first [portion] I worked on the show was two night shoots in a row and you're always a little bit addled doing that by three in the morning. I knew that this was the first thing I did and the first scene on Privet Drive, and I knew that whatever I do now, I've set the template for the next several years. I better do it right. I've done a lot of acting in my day, but I still get stage fright.
Nearly the entire cast of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone are the first people to step into these roles since they were made famous by their film counterparts. Interestingly, John Lithgow is the fourth actor after Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, and Jude Law, so one wonders if he’s feeling a bit less pressure putting on the moon-shaped glasses and, yes, that oh so famous beard.
But, by the sounds of things, that isn’t the case. It's clear John Lithgow is taking this part very seriously and has put a lot of thought into his performance. The Conclave star's attitude toward the project has me incredibly excited to see him when the series hits the 2026 TV schedule later this year.
The first season of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, debuts on HBO on Christmas Day 2026, and will then stream for all with an HBO Max subscription soon after.
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