Albus Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizards of his time in the Harry Potter franchise. The Hogwarts headmaster was the only person that Lord Voldemort feared, so it was important that the right actor was chosen to embody the powerful character.
Fans of Harry Potter had strong opinions about who should have been cast as Dumbledore, with some believing that Sir Ian McKellen would have been the perfect choice for the role. However, McKellen, and the first actor who played Dumbledore, had different ideas about whether he would have been the right pick.
Who Played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films?
Richard Harris played the role of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harris had reportedly only accepted the role of Dumbledore at the insistence of his granddaughter, who was a fan of the Harry Potter books. He had been struggling with his health for some years and died shortly after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 2002. The role had to be recast for Prisoner of Azkaban, and Michael Gambon was selected to play the zany headmaster.
Why Ian McKellen Turned Down the Dumbledore Role
McKellen was approached to take on the role of Dumbledore after Harris' death. In an interview with the BBC, McKellen stated that he was interested in the franchise but ultimately turned down the role because of Harris. At some point in his career, Harris had said that McKellen was a "technically brilliant, but passionless" actor. McKellen felt that he could not take over the role of someone who thought he was not good enough to play it.
Would Ian McKellen Make a Better Dumbledore?
The likely answer to this is yes, but only if he had not been in the Lord of the Rings franchise. McKellen is a seasoned actor who has proven that he is capable of playing the role of a powerful wizard. His performance as Gandalf came across as caring and wise but still powerful and formidable. McKellen would have brought a calmness to the role that didn't undermine Dumbledore's somewhat eccentric behavior, similar to his Magneto but not as sinister. He also had the perfect look for the role, and the more refined Gandalf the White is a good indication of how his Dumbledore would have looked.
Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore was not necessarily bad, but his version of the character drastically shifted from the way Harris had done it. Harris played Dumbledore as a wise old man, whereas Gambon's interpretation could often be aloof and just a little too cool. The anti-Gambon fans always bring up the scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Dumbledore grabs Harry by the shoulders and aggressively asks him if he put his name in the goblet of fire. Dumbledore's gentle disposition was missing from Gambon's performance, and this made him seem like the wrong fit.
Because of how much Dumbledore changes as the story shifts to a darker narrative, it isn't really possible to compare Harris and Gambon. Harry's perception of Dumbledore, in the beginning, was just as the weird but wise headmaster. However, this changed once they started working together to defeat Voldemort. Audiences never got to see Harris become a more serious Dumbledore, so it's impossible to know how he would have played the powerful wizard.
Although McKellen would have made a great addition to the franchise, Dumbledore and Gandalf are such similar characters that it may have felt like he was playing the same role twice. If McKellen was not already playing the role of a great and powerful wizard, his performance as Dumbledore would have been as brilliant as that of Gandalf. It's a pity that he never got to join the world of Harry Potter, but seeing him as Gandalf makes up for it.