Question: are dumbledore and gandalf played by the same actor

Answer: No, Ian McKellen was offered the role, but he turned it down, having played the similar character Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as feeling it would have been inappropriate to take Harris's role, as Harris had called McKellen a ``dreadful'' actor. Harris's family had expressed an interest in seeing Peter O'Toole being chosen as his replacement.