[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Michael Gambon doesn't see any point on reading the books????

[Sherry Gomes]

bboyminn:

So, this is very common amoung experienced professional actors. They
read only the script and concentrate on making the movie, and try hard
not to let outside influences conflict with the script or director's
vision.

That said, as fine an actor as Gambon may be, I'm not sure he makes
the very best Dumbledore. Certainly an adequate Dumbledore; an
exceptable Dumbledore, but perhaps not the best. I really did like
Richard Harris as Dumbledore. He could be whimsical, but I have
absolute confidence that Harris could also portray the power and fury
of Dumbledore when the time came. I also suspect that Gambon, at the
time, was the only man for the job. 

Another suggestion I read about recently was Patrick Stewart (Star
Trek: Next Generation) as Dumbledore. I think he could have been a
very good candidate. He is an excellent actor. I'm sure he could play
whimsical, and I'm confident he could play the anger and fury when
called on. Plus he has a really nice voice. Also, Patrick Stewart
seems to have an energy about him, a certain vitality that could lend
itself well to Dumbledore.

Perhaps we will get lucky and Gambon will not be available, and the
part will go to Patrick Stewart in the later films.

Just a thought.

Steve.bboyminn



Sherry:

I remember my great disappointment when I saw POA and saw/heard Gambon's
Dumbledore.  it was so different from Harris, but even more, it was so
different from the Dumbledore i thought i knew.  Even recently, I dug out my
DVD and showed it to a friend.  I didn't dislike the movie quite as
intensely this time around, time and distance I guess, but Gambon was still
heartbreakingly not Dumbledore.

I read Sean Aston's autobiography of filming LOTR.  i think there was one
major actor who didn't read the books, but in general, they all did, in
order to understand their character and its motivations.  He said they
called it "the bible" and in difficult filming situations would consult it.

That being said, I can kind of understand what you said about the actors not
wanting to have a preconceived idea of a character, yet Dumbledore is so
important and so deep, it seems it could have been a good idea to read about
him, at least.  his comments about always playing himself, no matter what
role he's in says a lot about his acting.  The best actors can put
themselves aside and become the character, not themselves.  i have a friend
who doesn't like Sandra Bullock movies, for instance, because he says she
always plays herself.

But wow, Patrick Stewart!  now he would be a good Dumbledore.  He can be
angry, whimsical, classy, kind.  I can just hear him offering people a lemon
drop, or battling with Voldemort at the ministry or any of the other
Dumbledore scenes in the future.  Hmmm, where's my wand?  i need to create
circumstances that would make Gambon too busy to do the next movies!  grin.

Sherry