Albus Dumbledore: actor and character

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

He is the greatest magician, the fear of all villains and the support of the weak. Probably, if it were not for Dumbledore, Harry Potter would not have had the strength to win the final victory in the fight against evil. Or would it be enough? In the last part of the book series about the boy wizard, the reader learns that the white-bearded magician was not sinless. What kind of hero is he? Is it positive? Was it difficult to play Dumbledore? The actor was not alone.

At Hogwarts

This is the first character to appear on the pages of the book. With a slow and stately gait, he heads towards the home of the Dursleys, the closest relatives of the orphaned Harry Potter. Dumbledore's actions are rational and logical. He calculates the moves in advance, but this is perhaps the only time he made a mistake, believing that Harry would grow up better with his family. Dumbledore made a mistake and doomed Harry to 10 painful years, which, however, only benefited the boy, as he grew up kind, reasonable and strong, which he could not have been madeyears of caress and bliss.

At school, Dumbledore received Harry cordially, but most of the time watched the boy from afar, giving advice and explaining mistakes from time to time. The director gives the first direct contact and the first task to his student only in the third year of study, when it is necessary to save an innocent person from death. Further, the connection grows stronger, and Dumbledore for Harry is no longer just a teacher, but an older comrade, friend, great magician and almost a native person. At the end of the sixth book, he dies, and this means that the boy is deprived of his most powerful protector. All these years, Professor Dumbledore has been Potter's hope and support.

Actor of the first and second parts

Richard Harris, who played in the first parts of the Potter series, recalled that the first reading of the role took place with children. It was approved right away. Harris was a British actor, the fifth child in the family. At an early age, he suffered from tuberculosis. He appeared on television for the first time in 1958, and then went up, starring in historical films, received the Golden Globe for the role of King Arthur. He starred in a lot of westerns. Harris even sang and recorded a couple of albums. Being a versatile person, he auditioned as a screenwriter and director. He agreed to the role in Harry Potter at the insistence of his granddaughter. The girl threatened her grandfather that she would not talk to him if he refused to act. According to many critics and just viewers, this was the reference Dumbledore. Actor Richard Harris passed away in October 2002. He played his last role infilm "Apocalypse", where he was John the Evangelist.

What should Dumbledore be like?

It was difficult to "jump on the bandwagon of a departing train" and continue such a difficult role after Harris died. The audience managed to get used to the face of the hero, his manners and posture. The new Dumbledore - actor Michael Gambon - has some resemblance to Harris, but in fact he is completely different. Albus Harris is more stately and kind. He resembles a kind grandfather, wise and experienced. This is a classic image of a wizard, similar to Merlin and Gandalf. Despite his solid years, Dumbledore has a lively mind, a sense of humor and a condescending attitude to life. Until the seventh book, little is known about the past of the great wizard, and therefore Dumbledore was extremely positive. Actor Michael Gambon had to convey the inner essence of the hero, remember the dark spots in his biography and try to justify some prudence towards Severus Snape and Harry Potter. The hero has a difficult childhood and a rebellious character. He should not remain on the screen smiling and meek. He's strong, smart, and brash, just like Gambon should have been.

The result is obvious

The fourth book has a new Dumbledore. The long silver beard shortened somewhat, the hero began to tie it up and changed the style of clothing. No, he did not refuse robes, but preferred gray and faded to bright colors. It was a new Dumbledore - the actor made changes in his character. The director became emotional, impetuous and sometimes even nervous. Heeven lashes out at Harry when he wants to know if he himself threw his name into the Goblet of Fire. Gambon's Dumbledore can be stern and even tough. He behaves rather coldly with Severus Snape, but gradually imbues him with sympathy for his feelings for Lilly Potter. The director has almost no friends, but there are as many fans and admirers as you like. Fans of the saga of the wizard boy note that Dumbledore smiles little in Gambon, while in the book he encouraged the boy with a good-natured smile through half-glasses.

Summarizing

You can not compare the performers of the role of such a multifaceted and interesting magician. The headmaster of Hogwarts was a great personality with many pleasant qualities. The actor playing Dumbledore at the beginning embodied the bright side of the image, showed that the hero is kind, calm and smart. Toward the end of the acting game, it became clear that he still remains a man, not a god. Dumbledore skillfully calculated the moves of all the players on his "chessboard", he wielded them like pawns, even in death, but everything was done for the "common good". Is this approach justified? After all, the result was achieved. There are different points of view on this matter, but the truth is unknown, probably even to the author of the books.