Apparently not everyone is a fan of Sir Ian McKellen.
Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two “Harry Potter” films before his death in 2002, once said that McKellen was “technically brilliant but passionless.”
Because of that, 77-year-old McKellen says he decided to pass on the role following Harris’ death, which led producers to cast Michael Gambon.
“When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the ‘Harry Potter’ films, they didn’t say in what part,” he said on BBC’s HARDtalk show recently. “I worked out what they were thinking, and I couldn’t … I couldn’t take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me.”
McKellen, known for playing Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” movies, then joked that he was the “real wizard.”
And though McKellen turned down the role, Gambon may as well be his doppelgänger. Even he thinks they resemble each other.
“Sometimes, when I see the posters of Mike Gambon, the actor who gloriously plays Dumbledore, I think sometimes it is me,” McKellen laughed.