The Magical Albus Dumbledore Part One

By: CHRIS WYATT
Date: Thursday, November 29, 2001

Well-respected British thespian Richard Harris has been lauded critically for roles in films like CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY and WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY. But the distinguished actor is also no stranger to genre films, having played King Arthur in the 1967 movie version of CAMELOT and Gulliver in the 1977 version of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. His career has run the gamutas well as the decades. He's gone from playing Squadron Leader Barnsby in the 1961 cult classic war film THE GUNS OF NAVARONE to a notable turn as the murdered Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Ridley Scott's 2000 epic GLADIATOR. And Harris' work is now being enjoyed by a whole new generation of fans thanks to his widely appreciated turn as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE.

But Harris didn't take the part because of how high profile the role would be. Nor did he take the role because author J.K. Rowling specifically requested him. In fact, he initially turned the part downonly to be coaxed into it for more personal reasons. "They wanted me to do it," remarks the actor, "but originally I didn't want to do it."



It was a newspaper article in a small local paper that set in motion Harris' change of mind. The article stated that "most actors in the world were queuing up to be in this thing and Richard Harris had turned it down." The actors chuckles, "My granddaughter who... was eleven at the time, read [the article] and she's... a HARRY POTTER fanatic. So, she called me up and said, 'Poppa, I read the paper today... If you don't play Dumbledore, I will never speak to you again.' So I hung up, called my agent and said, 'Okay, I'll do it. I can't afford to lose that gig.'"

The reason Harris initially turned the part down "had nothing to do with me not liking [the story]. It wasn't because the quality... or the content of it... [but] because you had to commit your life. I mean, if they're going to make seven movies, I've got to do them. That was it. There was no way out of it! And I hate commitment. I loathe it! I loathe having dates and I hate having to be someplace... My life has now been controlled. They're certainly going to make three, maybe even four and the idea that [my] life is controlled by that doesn't suit me at all. I hate that!"


But, commitment aside, Harris is now thankful that his granddaughter put the pressure on. "I'm glad that I did it," explains the actor, "because when you get to seventy years of age, parts don't come in all that easy. I mean, [there aren't] enough good parts for seventy year olds. And it's a wonderful project and it's a wonderful part. I just have to condition myself to the fact that I've got three or four more!"



Harris also appreciates the final product. "I enjoyed watching it, and I think that it was great! We had a whole bunch of kids there yesterday. They were children too young to go to the premiere, who were kind of my godchildren and they sat through it, and I said, 'Was it too long?' And they said, 'No, they could have done another hour'. It was unbelievable!"

Despite the wonderful end product, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE wasn't the easiest movie to make, logistically speaking. "Yeah, it is difficult," Harris says, "because you only have so many hours a day to work with the kids. The laws here are very strict and quite rightly so. When your turn comes to perform they tell you that you have an hour to do it because the kids are back in an hour. So, you have to get in and get it done quick."

The best part of filming, for Harris, was the light schedule. "It was heaven," claims Harris. "I would work one day and get two weeks off, and work two days, and get three weeks off. I would work one day and get a month off!"



Working with the child actors in the film was also one of Harris' highlights. "They're marvelous... When Christopher Columbus, the director, asked me to come down and meet the kids, I met Ron [Rupert Grint] and Dan [Radcliffe], Emma [Watson], and I hung around them for a couple of hours to get to know them. Then Chris Columbus asked me if I would mind reading with them. So, we played all the scenes and when it was all finished, Rupert looked at me and said, 'That was quite a good reading that you gave,' and I said, 'Really,' and he said, 'I think that you'll be okay in this part.'"

Perhaps working with the children in the film will help Harris confront the people who will be his greatest criticsthe children. "[There was a] young girl yesterday who was at the picture in the afternoon. Molly was her name and I said, 'What did you think, Molly?' She said, 'I liked it, it's good, but of course, it wasn't called the Dark Forrest, it's called the Forbidden Forrest in the book,' and she's only about nine. And she said, 'Hermione, she's all wrong,' and I said, 'What do you mean?' 'Well, she's supposed to have buck teeth.' These kids... they knew every single thing about that book and if you put a finger wrong, boy, they jump you!"

Harris continues, "Some of the kids that were there from my family, the young ones, they said, 'Well, your beard was slightly wrong.' And I said, 'What?' They said, 'Well, your beard was supposed to be under your belt.' Critics!"

Be sure to check back soon for part two of CINESCAPE's interview with Richard Harris.