Actor John Lithgow Defends Harry Potter Decision

The upcoming HBO Harry Potter series is again in the spotlight as actor John Lithgow receives backlash from fans after accepting the offer to act in the series. This backlash was met after the controversial anti-trans statements made by J.K Rowling, who is the writer and one of the producers of the series.  John in an interview with The Times of London mentioned that he 'absolutely' didn’t have the idea of receiving backlash, because of accepting the role.

In the interview, the actor highlighted that the acceptance of the role was a choice of his own. This was a big decision for John, as it involves 8 years of his career spent on this film. This probably might be the last role he would play in his career. The actor quoted, “It’s an eight-year commitment, so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role.” The actor also recalled a moment, when he received a letter stating ‘walk away from Harry Potter’, his close friend, who was a parent of transgender child. The actor remarked, “That was the canary in the coal mine.”

Accounting for the situation, the actor questioned why Rowling’s personal views have affected the project. Despite the criticism received, John has made it clear that he has no second thoughts about accepting the role. HBO has mentioned previously that the author will be involved in the development of the new series.