John Lithgow has done it all across his 50 years and change in the entertainment industry. Lithgow’s trophy cabinet holds Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, and dozens of Oscars and Grammys nominations. Lithgow has iconic roles on the big screen, in televisions across the country and even on stage at some of the biggest theaters in the world. Now, as reported byScreen Rant, Lithgow will take on his most iconic role as Professor Albus Dumbledore in theHarry PotterTV series from MAX.
John Lithgow Is The Next Professor Dumbledore
John Lithgow is now confirmed as the first actor in the monstrous Harry Potter TV series project, led by showrunner Francesca Gardiner. Lithgow had beenrumored over the past weekto play the Hogwarts Headmaster, but now is confirmed by his own volition. The series will adapt the well-known Harry Potter novels. The series has already been stressed as potentially a decade long with a microscopic focus to detail only afforded by the series being a multi-season television show.
Lithgow acknowledged this very detail, signaling the stress of the time commitment to the project personally, stating he very well could be playing Dumbledore into his late 80s. Lithgow becomes the fourth actor to play Albus Dumbledore, with the most recent iteration coming from Jude Law in the Fantastic Beasts Harry Potter prequel series. Lithgow also breaks a major typecast barrier, becoming the first American to play Dumbledore in the role’s history. Don’t fret Potterheads, we’ll get into a bit later why Lithgow is more than prepared to play one of the UK’s most recognized characters.
A Look At Lithgow’s Incredible Acting Resume
While Lithgow has already stated his role as Dumbledore will define the final chapter of his life, the world-famous actor has quite a few standout roles across his many decades in the industry that are worth highlighting.
We’ll begin with a role many young adults could recognize from Lithgow only by voice, one of the most quotable animated villains of the 21st century, Lord Farquaad. A majority of the readers here can hear Lithgow’s voice in their head reading quotes like “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make” or “Run, run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the gingerbread man!” Lithgow as Lord Farquaad established him as a staple of many young adults' childhoods from behind the microphone.
Speaking of generation-defining roles, let’s delve into the deep pool of Lithgow television roles with his first appearance on an episodic TV series, 3rd Rock from the Sun. Lithgow played Dick Solomon the leader of a group of aliens attempting to assimilate into human society as a normal American family. This quirky comedy was adored by fans and critics alike, putting future stars like Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the map at a young age. Lithgow still looks back fondly on this series in particular, discussing how much freedom and creativity the set gave to its actors.
Now let’s hone in on some of the award-winning Lithgow performances, starting with his role as Arthur Mitchell aka the “Trinity Killer” in season four of Dexter. Lithgow won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe forOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Seriesfor his role in the fictional serial killer TV series. Lithgow was praised endlessly for his performance, flawlessly playing almost two different people with the family man Mitchell on the outside and the evil Trinity Killer behind closed doors.
Lithgow more recently received hardware for his role as Winston Churchill for the Crown TV series. This was the point alluded to earlier to rest assured any doubters in Lithgow’s ability to act in British dialect-based roles. Lithgow won another pair of Emmys and Golden Globes for this role, this time under the Best Supporting Actor marker. Even if that isn’t convincing enough, Lithgow spent time playing Roald Dahl in Giant which spent time in the biggest theaters across the United Kingdom.
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