It's hard to believe it's been 20 years — two whole decades! — since Gary Oldman first swept into the Wizarding World and stole our hearts as Sirius Black in Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Almost just as hard to believe is that right now Succession duo Mark Mylod and Francesca Gardiner are hard at work readying their upcoming small-screen HP reboot for HBO, with an open casting call for our next Golden Trio having already gone live just last week. But whilst Mylod and Gardiner might be scouting for unknowns to play Harry, Ron, and Hermione in their new show, Oldman has already thrown his hat in the ring for a part in the series — and it's not the one you'd expect, either.
In an interview with IndieWire on the red carpet at last weekend's 76th Emmy Awards, Oldman — who was up for Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series for his brilliant turn as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses — was asked whether he'd be keen to play Sirius Black again in the new HBO show. And whilst Oldman told the outlet that he hasn't been approached to reprise his role as Harry's godfather, going on to say "I love Sirius" before lamenting how his character "wasn't in it enough", the British acting legend and Darkest Hour Oscar winner wouldn't say no to a stab at playing a certain Hogwarts headmaster. “I would bet my money that they will get a whole new cast of people,” Oldman told IndieWire when questioned about casting on the new Potter series, before adding, “Maybe in a few years, I could do Dumbledore.” Merlin's beard!
Now listen, we're not trying to say Gary Oldman is suddenly a dead cert to play the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot just because he's open to the idea (if we were, then we'd also be confirming Sir Ian McKellen's Gandalf and Orlando Bloom's Legolas already for The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum). But it is interesting to note that the late, great Michael Gambon and Richard Harris were 63 and 71 years old respectively when they first played Dumbledore, and Oldman slots neatly between those ages at a spritely 66 years of age. So who knows, maybe there is a chance? With the Harry Potter TV series set to hit our screens in 2026 and casting already underway, we suspect we'll start finding out who's hitching a ride on the Hogwarts Express for the new show very soon. Anything from the trolley?