John Lithgow, who is set to take over the iconic role of Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter television series, recently spoke out against J.K. Rowling and her rampant transphobia. Though at the same time, he did defend his decision to take over as the Hogwarts headmaster in the new adaptation, saying it made him "uncomfortable" and "unhappy" that people insisted he walk away from the job, but he chose not to.
Lithgow spoke at the Rotterdam Film Festival Sunday, where his film Jimpa premiered, and was asked how he felt about Rowling's hateful rhetoric. "I take the subject extremely seriously. She has created this amazing canon for young people, and it has jumped into the consciousness of the society," Variety reports him saying. "It’s about good versus evil, kindness versus cruelty. I find her views ironic and inexplicable. I’ve never met her, she’s not really involved in this production at all. But the people who are, are remarkable.”
He continued, "It upsets me when people are opposed to me having anything to do with this. But in Potter canon you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity. She’s written this mediation of kindness and acceptance. And Dumbledore is a beautiful role.”
The actor then attempted to lighten the mood, arguing that the opportunity is a good form of job security. "I’m the oldest person in this entire room, just turned 80. And yet I signed a contract – I will be playing Dumbledore for the next eight years! I absolutely have to keep at it," he said. "I felt: ‘Wow! That means I will live to be 88.’ I have that in writing.”
According to the publication, an audience member got up out of their chair and left the room in protest while Lithgow was talking and could be heard saying, "Things like these don’t help," and the actor responded to the abrupt exit by saying, "I’m perfectly ready for collisions of opinion. I understand it."
In Jimpa, directed by Sophie Hyde and co-starring Olivia Colman, Lithgow plays a gay grandfather named Jim, affectionately referred to in the movie as the titular namesake by his nonbinary grandchild, Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde, the director's child).
