There's no doubt that McKellen would have done a fantastic job as Dumbledore, but when an actor takes on a role after another performer's passing, there should be a way to pay respects to the latter's beliefs about their character's legacy. Or is it the most petty but respectful way? Regardless of which side of the scale it swings more on, McKellen's decision to not take on the role ultimately showed Harris' respect without compromising his belief in his own acting talents. With all that information in mind, McKellen's decision to turn down the role feels like the most respectfully petty way to do so. Nonetheless, he would go on to refuse the role, saying, "I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I'd known didn't approve of me." He recounted that Harris had made some disparaging comments about McKellen and his fellow actors, Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh, calling them "technically brilliant, but passionless." The criticisms did not sit well with McKellen, who called the comment "nonsense." He very clearly didn't agree with Harris' judgment call on his acting chops, but didn't appear to be harboring a grudge. However, as director Christopher Columbus shared with Insider, O'Toole ultimately decided against it because "he didn't feel it was right" to fill his best friend's shoes. The studio initially considered one of Harris' lifelong friends, the legendary Peter O'Toole, to continue in his friend's stead. Whoever took on the role needed to balance impeccable wit, ageless wisdom, and a masterful flair for dramatics. The role and character was iconic, essential, and integral to the story. The question of who would play Albus Dumbledore became one of the most pressing questions about the movie series' production moving forward. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore shows Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) wearing shoulder-length hair and dark clothes that mirror Snapes (Alan Rickman) style in Harry Potter, thus spoiling Credences ending in the five-movie saga. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in August 2002 and would pass away in October just a few months later. Unfortunately, Harris never got to see Harry and his friends in their later Hogwarts years. Albus was originally played by acclaimed actor Richard Harris, who portrayed the beloved headmaster in the first two Harry Potter films: The Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and The Chamber of Secrets (2002). Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. His opening confrontation with Grindelwald alone bears more chemistry and tension than the entire previous film - and yes, the pair’s former romance is now, finally, acknowledged.Professor Albus Dumbledore is Harry's iconic mentor and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. He’s not quite the central character (the film lacks one, splitting focus between Dumbledore, Newt and Grindelwald Ezra Miller’s Credence features less prominently than expected), but he brings much-needed sparkle to proceedings, his Gambon-esque, twinkly warmth offset by a sense of unknowability. The MVP, though, is Jude Law’s Dumbledore. Fogler’s Jacob, too, remains a franchise highlight as the outsider looking in on the Wizarding World -here given his own wand and stepping inside Hogwarts’ hallowed halls, wish fulfilment at its highest. Newt remains an admirably ambling hero, introspective but good-natured, and his interplay with his cooler, calmer big brother is nicely played (“You’re not swivelling properly!” Newt chides when the pair are forced to dance for a crowd of murderous, lobster-like manticores). It would be nice for the audience to know, too - but despite an overstuffed plot, Dumbledore’s game of wizarding chess is a mostly entertaining one. How it all fits together is on a need-to-know basis. So it is that magizoologist Newt ( Eddie Redmayne), his Auror brother Theseus ( Callum Turner), assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates), muggle baker Jacob ( Dan Fogler), Ilvermorny teacher Lally ( Jessica Williams, a likeable newcomer), and the mysterious Yusuf (William Nadylam) are split into groups on intersecting missions, masterminded by the wizarding legend. With the wizard-supremacist rhetoric of Grindelwald (whose new Mikkelsen-shaped appearance is no more remarked upon than that of Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore in The Prisoner Of Azkaban) gaining ground, Dumbledore (Jude Law) hatches a plan of counter-attack - and lest his pawns be captured, nobody is given the full picture. Some of that obscure(ial) plotting can be forgiven - often a feature more than a bug, since The Secrets Of Dumbledore positions itself as a spy thriller amid a brewing magical war. The MVP, though, is Jude Law’s Dumbledore –he brings much-needed sparkle to proceedings, his Gambon-esque, twinkly warmth offset by a sense of unknowability.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |