John Lithgow said he finds J.K. Rowling's views on transgender issues "strange" but has no plans to step away from his role in HBO Max's upcoming "Harry Potter" series.
The actor, who has been cast as Albus Dumbledore in the long-form TV adaptation, addressed the issue surrounding the franchise during an onstage discussion at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam on Sunday, saying it was something he did not take lightly.
"I take the subject and the issue extremely seriously," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "J.K. Rowling has created this amazing canon for young people, young kids' literature that has jumped into the consciousness of society. Young and old people love Harry Potter and the Harry Potter stories. It's so much about acceptance. It's about good versus evil. It's about kindness versus cruelty. It's deeply felt."
On the transgender issue, Rowling simply says it's unfair for women to play sports against men.
Even so, Lithgow said Rowling's public stance is difficult to understand.
"I find it ironic and somewhat inexplicable that Rowling has expressed such views," Lithgow said.
He added that he has never met the author and stressed that she is not closely involved in the new series.
"I've read about them, and I've never met her. She's not really involved in this production at all. The people who are re-adapting 'Harry Potter' and turning it into an eight-year-long TV series are remarkable. ... These are people I really want to work with."
Lithgow said some of the backlash has been directed at him personally.
"Of course, it upsets me when people are vehemently opposed to my having anything to do with this," he said.
"But if you read through the ‘Harry Potter' canon, you see absolutely no trace of transphobic sensibility," he continued. "She has written this great meditation on kindness and empathy and acceptance, which is why it's so strange to me."
He said deciding whether to stay with the project was difficult.
"Dumbledore is a beautiful role," Lithgow said.
"So it was a hard decision on the basis of that [issue], and it made me very uncomfortable and unhappy that people were actively insisting that I walk away from this job. But I chose not to do that," he added.
Lithgow previously spoke about the backlash in an interview with The Times of London last year, saying he had not anticipated the reaction after accepting the role.
He recalled receiving a letter titled "An Open Letter to John Lithgow: Please Walk Away from Harry Potter" from a close friend who is the mother of a transgender child.
"That was the canary in the coal mine," he said.
Despite the criticism, Lithgow said the uproar has not led him to reconsider his involvement. Asked whether it changed his mind about the role, he replied, "Oh, heavens no."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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