Who really killed DD - The real story

[Steve]

---  "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" <catlady at ...> wrote:
>
> Sandy October's Child wrote in
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/30854>:
> ,,,edited,,,
> 
> << I agree that Richard Harris was the *perfect* Dumbledore. 
> (snip) I could have accepted him quite nicely. I don't like 
> Gambon as DD; he just doesn't have the *feel* for the role. 
> He has admitted in interviews that he hasn't read the books. >>

> Catlady:
> Many, many people complained against Richard Harris right after the
> first movie, saying that he was an inadequate Dumbledore because he
> didn't 'twinkle' and he had bragged to an interviewer that he hadn't
> bothered to read the books.
>

bboyminn:

It is not so much a question of whether the actor reads the book or
not, in fact many actors in many roles do not read the book that their
character is based on, and that is because, they don't want confusion
or conflict between their portrayal and the books portrayal. 

But they still make an effort to understand that character and to
capture his essense. For example, Sandra Bullock's portrayal of Nelle
Harper Lee, a friend of Truman Capote's in the latest film 'Infamous'.
She said she didn't read the book for the reason I mentioned but she
extensively researched her character to pick up a true protrayal of
the mannerisims and characteristics that made the person unique. She
didn't necessarily have to read the book to capture the character, but
she DID HAVE TO TRY. I don't get the idea that Gambon does this. I
think this is just quick easy money to him; he doesn't take the role
seriously and doesn't think it matters, but it matters very very much
to HP fans. Dumbledore is Dumbledore, and that is critical to the
story. If Dumbledore is NOT Dumbledore then the story falls apart and
important sympathies are lost.

Gambon's failure isn't that he failed to DO, it's that he failed to
TRY, and I place a substantical amount of the blame on the Director
and Producer for not defining that character for the actor. I believe
that IS their job. I place as much blame on them for not demanding as
accurate performance as I do on Gambon for not giving one.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn - who is afraid that we are stuck with Gambon and his
portrayal and that is that. By the time we could influence a change,
the series will be over. The only hope is that Gambon will lose
interest and they will assign someone else. I also saw Michael Cain on
TV last night and thought he might be able to pull if off. He also
have a very whimsical side, as well as powerful dramatic skills. Or
how about Sean Connery?