Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is, as you probably know, one of the main characters in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
series. He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry's greatest mentor and the premier fighter against evil and the Dark Arts.Dumbledore has been played by two men:
Richard Harris (left) in Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Michael GambonPrisoner of Azkaban (2004), Goblet of Fire (2005), Order of the Phoenix (2007), Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Deathly Hallows (2010 and 2011) in
I am going to say right up front, I think Richard Harris was better. And for several reasons:
1- Michael Gambon did not read the books. He doesn't know this character's backstory, and he doesn't know where everything is going. In his defense, he points out that Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) and Alan Rickman (Snape) didn't read the books either. However, both of those actors have spoken directly with the author about their characters and have taken her opinion into account. Gambon has not. That means that he is interpreting the direction given to him by a man who is interpreting what he sees in a script which was interpreted by a man reading a children's book. That is a lot of steps from the original character to where Gambon sits. If an eight year old can read these, why can't he?
(side note- Richard Harris took the part originally because his granddaughter wanted him to, I think that says something about how and why he played this character)
2- Dumbledore is cool. Not cool as in "totally rad", but cool as in calm and collected and serene. Even when things get heavy, he keeps a level head. Gambon's interpretation of the character has lost his cool more than once. In The Goblet of Fire, he yelled at Harry when his name came out of the cup. Dumbledore never yells at a student. Never. In The Half-Blood Prince, Gambon's Dumbledore seems frustrated and confused and angry at the world as he sifts through his pensieve. Neither of these episodes jive with the man who has been orchestrating events up to this point so as to ensure the outcome.
3- Dumbledore cares. I just can't believe that Michael Gambon cares about these kids, even Harry. He's gruff. He's curt. He's like the crotchety old grandpa that you don't want to go hug, but your mom makes you. Richard Harris is like the grandpa that sneaks you candy and tells the best bedtime stories in the world. He's also the grandpa that shows you how to save the world by using your head.
4- Dumbledore is wise. And not just because he's old, but because he has set about on a lifelong journey of learning, exploring and discovering. Richard Harris is so much more believable as a truly wise man. You get the sense that he's seen it all, done it all and would write the book about it all if he ever had the time. Michael Gambon just doesn't convey that to me.
5- Dumbledore is content and happy. Dumbledore's name means "bumblebee" and JK Rowling has been known to say that she named him as such because she imagines him wandering around the castle humming to himself like a bumblebee. I could totally see Richard Harris walking around with his hands in the opposite sleeve, humming a delightful tune. I see Michael Gambon pacing around quickly muttering to himself in angst.
6- Dumbledore is a little bit nuts. And he is really a big kid at heart. His eyes twinkle when he speaks of the shenanigans that the Weasley twins get into. Ron mentions repeatedly how mental Dumbledore is; he's in fact extremely proud of how loony his hero is. In Socerer's Stone, Dumbledore opens the feast by saying "a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Gambon would never be able to pull off something like this. Harris all the way.
Eh, what can you do? You win some, you lose some. This time, I win.
Now, don't get all bent out of shape, I know that Richard Harris was replaced because he died. I'm not totally insensitive, it is very sad that a well respected father and grandfather passed away. I can still mourn the death of my Dumbledore, can I not? Er... not that death, the death of the actor.
And I am not going to address which actor is more believable as a gay man, because to me, I just don't think it affects the character. The fact that this was not revealed until after the seventh book was written says something about how little it matters. Upon re-reading the series, I can't find any evidence in the story that this factoid mattered even one little bit. If you want to talk about it, fine, but I'm not going to.
So, let's hear it. Which actor was the best version of Dumbledore? Do you like Harris, Gambon or some impossible mix of the two?
Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments?
Images: Google Images
