Albus Dumbledore loves mysteries, and mysteries love him.
Of the dozens of characters depicted in the Harry Potter books and the entertainment franchise around them, few have been as consistently reinvented and reshaped as the wise man with a fondness for sherbet lemons.
With the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore promising to reveal yet more about the man behind the twinkly blue eyes and magnificent beard, it’s worth examining why exactly we’re all so fascinated by the kindly headmaster of Hogwarts.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Dumbledore is the first character we see on screen in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. Darkness falls as Richard Harris (who first portrayed Dumbledore) emerges from the twilight gloom, snuffing out the streetlights of Privet Drive to deliver the infant Harry Potter to the Dursleys.
John Williams’ score cranks up the sense of eerie oddity as this decidedly wizard-y looking fella introduces us to the world of magic, existing adjacent to our own lives. From the first moment, Dumbledore is intimately connected to mystery and he has been ever since…
In this month’s edition of our free digital magazine The Lowdown, we reflect on the beloved character’s fascinating history and unique malleability that has helped him remain one of pop culture’s enduring figures.
