Albus Dumbledore

**Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore**, also known as **Albus Dumbledore** and **Professor Dumbledore**, is a character from the *Harry Potter* series.

## **Charactah Account**

Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and considered to be the modern Merlin in terms of his magical ability. Like any good old, wise guy, he's extremely vague about everything important he says; he is also humorously eccentric. Founded the Order of the Phoenix, the organization that spearheads the fight against Voldemort; most of the characters in the series are personally loyal to him.

Considered by many to be "the most powerful wizard of all time", Dumbledore was benevolent and wise, a great wizard in the vein of Merlin. He had an almost unearthly calm and relaxed demeanour and almost constantly gave off an aura of serenity and composure, rarely displaying intense emotions of anger or fear. He was known for typically speaking in a calm, collected voice, and being firm, but reasonable and kind. He was always courteous, even to people who he found rude or in the case of Fenrir Greyback, disgusting. However, despite his benign nature, it is said that Dumbledore was the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever truly feared.

Dumbledore was notably eccentric. He was quite fond of knitting patterns and frequently wore flamboyant clothing (at one point, he is seen wearing a flowered bonnet that he received from a Wizard Cracker). In particular, he had a somewhat odd taste in sweets: he enjoyed Muggle sweets relatively unknown in the wizarding world (particularly sherbet lemons) and the password to his office, supposedly that of his current favourite sweet, was often peculiar choices such as Acid Pops and Cockroach Clusters. In addition, he had a liking for chamber music as well as ten-pin bowling. He often used humour to make people feel comfortable in his presence. In fact, his noted eccentricity may have been at least partly his using humour to appear less threatening. Dumbledore has been known to be quite philosophical; often, very few people have the understanding (or patience) to comprehend his philosophies.

## **Appearance**

### **Literature**

* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

### **Movies**

* Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
* Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

### **Video Games**

* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
* Harry Potter for Kinect
* Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
* Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
* LEGO Creator: Harry Potter
* LEGO Dimensions
* LEGO Harry Potter Collection
* LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
* LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

## **Trivia**

* Albus Dumbledore is portrayed by the late Irish actor Richard Harris in the film adaptations of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* and *Chamber of Secrets*. When Harris died of Hodgkin's Disease in 2002, the late Irish actor Michael Gambon was recast as Dumbledore and portrays him in the film adaptations of *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Goblet of Fire*, *Order of the Phoenix*, *Half-Blood Prince* and *Deathly Hallows: Part 1* and *Part 2*. Therefore, Dumbledore is one of the 14 characters to appear in all 8 film adaptations.
	+ Both actors who have played the elderly Dumbledore have been Irish. In an interview on the DVD of *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Gambon mentions that his Irish accent is quite pronounced as Dumbledore, but no one asked him to change it. (The Irish tones of Harris's accent are less pronounced.)
	+ A younger Dumbledore (aged around 62) is portrayed by Harris in *Chamber of Secrets* and Gambon portrays both an older Dumbledore in *Goblet of Fire* (aged around 100) and a younger Dumbledore in *Half-Blood Prince* (aged around 57).
	+ Michael Gambon also voices Professor Dumbledore in *Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery*.
	+ Harris initially declined the role but reconsidered when his then 11 year old granddaughter told him that she would never speak to him again if he did.
	+ Prior to Michael Gambon being recast as Dumbledore, the role was offered to Sir Ian McKellen, but he declined.
* Toby Regbo portrayed a teenage, Dumbledore (aged 17) in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1* and in *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* .
* Jude Law portrays Dumbledore at the age of around 47 (and in a flashback aged around 29) in *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* and aged around 51 in *Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore*.
	+ Along with Nagini, Minerva McGonagall and Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore is one of four characters who appear in both the *Harry Potter* and *Fantastic Beasts* film series to date.
* Jeff Bergman voices Dumbledore in *Harry Potter: Magic Awakened*.
* Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore is noticeably different from both Richard Harris's and from the books'. In the books, Dumbledore is noted to have been very calm and collected in nearly all circumstances. He has also been known to have worn a pointy wizard's cap, long majestic robes, and have a lengthy untethered beard. However, Gambon's Dumbledore is somewhat different in that regard. Though still calm and collected most of the time, he tends to traverse further into the emotional spectrum of his character. This can be seen clearly in *Goblet of Fire* and *Order of the Phoenix* where he sometimes raises his voice at Harry Potter and the students respectively. This somewhat uncharacteristic behaviour is wholly absent, however, in his portrayals in *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Half-Blood Prince*, and *Deathly Hallows: Part 2*.
* Gambon's physical portrayal as Dumbledore is also slightly different, opting for a somewhat Bohemian look, including a fez-like tasselled hat, along with long and flowing robes that seem to have subtle Indian/Arabian influences. His beard is also tied with a thread-like chain, the ends of which feature miniature bells. Dumbledore doesn't always wear his spectacles in the films (except the third where he was wearing them during every on-screen appearance in that film, while in the fourth film he wore his spectacles at different times, in the fifth film he wore them only during the Start-of-Term Feast and in the sixth film, he wore them just during the Start-of-Term Feast and for a brief moment in his office examining Tom Riddle's diary just before Harry entered and sees Dumbledore's memory of meeting Riddle. Also, just after Harry is seen entering and the next shot of Dumbledore comes, his spectacles have gone which is one of the film's mistakes). What can also be noted is that Gambon's Dumbledore is far more energetic than Harris' Dumbledore which is more in line with the character from the books. Discounting the special case of Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Dumbledore is, to date, the only major core character in the series to be recast.
* J. K. Rowling has stated that Albus Dumbledore is her favourite character in the whole series.
* Dumbledore does not say Harry Potter's name at all in the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*. This is the only film in which this happens, although *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1* would not count, due to Dumbledore having died near the end of the previous film and flashbacks and voices of Dumbledore saying hints and the like.
* In *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* Dumbledore mentions that he lost his taste for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in his youth after unfortunately coming across a vomit-flavoured one. He wouldn't risk tasting them again until 1992, which was also a negative experience. As the sweets were created sometime in the mid 20th century, this must have been during his time teaching at Hogwarts as an adult. However, given Dumbledore's age at the time he made this statement, "youth" may have been a relative description.
* In the early drafts of *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Dumbledore would not resist arrest by the Ministry of Magic, after the discovery of Dumbledore's Army, and would've uttered: "*Then to Azkaban I must go. I trust I'm allowed a toothbrush?*".
* In the films, Dumbledore has the distinction of being the first human character to appear in the film series.
* In 2007, J.K. Rowling revealed that Dumbledore was gay, and harboured romantic feelings for Gellert Grindelwald. Rowling also commented that "this added to Dumbledore's horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was". This love was caused by Dumbledore meeting someone "as brilliant as he was." Only the subtlest of hints can be found in *Deathly Hallows* relating to this. Reportedly the earliest indication of Dumbledore's orientation came when Rowling vetoed a line of dialogue in one of the recent film scripts that would have referenced a romantic involvement with a woman. Rowling explains this further by elaborating on the motivations behind Dumbledore's flirtation with the idea of wizard domination of Muggles: "He lost his moral compass completely when he fell in love and I think subsequently became very mistrustful of his own judgement in those matters so became quite asexual. He led a celibate and a bookish life." Later, in the digital bonus edition of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Rowling confirmed that Dumbledore and Grindelwald did indeed have a romantic relationship in their youth, and that it was quite intense and passionate.
* When asked on Twitter why Dumbledore sends other people to deal with the bad guy (in this case Grindelwald) she said he has his reasons and to be patient.
* The published version of *The Tales of Beedle the Bard* reveals that Lucius Malfoy tried to assure Dumbledore would be removed from the post of Headmaster of Hogwarts after he had ensured the inclusion of pro-Muggle tales in the book. Dumbledore, in turn, commented that he worked hard to make Malfoy "Voldemort's least favourite Death Eater".
* In J. K. Rowling's website Wizard of the Month archive, Albus Dumbledore was the Wizard of the Month before Harry Potter, which was the last.
* Ciarán Hinds, who played Albus's brother Aberforth, claimed that Dumbledore was 123 years old when he died. This would make his year of birth 1874.
* According to Rowling in 2018, we will learn more about Grindelwald's and Dumbledore's past in the upcoming films.
* In one interview, J. K. Rowling said that Dumbledore was a sprightly 150. This is possibly referenced in the *Half-Blood Prince* film, when the trio humorously speculates 150 as his age, before cracking up.
* At the end of the first part of the *Deathly Hallows* film, it is shown that Dumbledore is buried on the island in the Black Lake that Harry and Lupin take a stroll through in the *Prisoner of Azkaban* film.
* Dumbledore is similar in appearance and role to Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. His resemblance to Gandalf is perhaps strongest in the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, and he also resembles Gandalf the White in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2*. The fire attack he uses to fight the Inferi could also be compared to Gandalf's battle on Weathertop against the Nazgûl. Many used Gandalf's supposed death (as he returned) to support their theories that Dumbledore survived, but J.K. Rowling said to not expect him to "pull a Gandalf". Ironically, Ian McKellen, the actor who portrayed Gandalf in both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogies, was offered the role of Dumbledore after the death of Richard Harris but refused due to Harris not approving of him.
	+ In addition, Dumbledore's character also has parallels between both Gandalf and even Obi-Wan Kenobi from George Lucas's Star Wars original trilogy. All three characters possess magical abilities and serve as principal mentors to the main protagonists of each of the respective stories (Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Luke Skywalker) guiding them on their journey to accomplish their respective tasks each are destined for. All protagonists would later witness their mentor's demise firsthand affecting them greatly, but the latter are later able to establish communications again with their mentees, either through visions, or being reborn (in Gandalf's case). Finally, in each of the films when facing off against a major antagonist, each mentor is taunted for being weak by being spitefully called "old man." In the Extended Edition of the Return of the King, the Witch-king calls Gandalf that before breaking his staff. In Star Wars Episode IV, Darth Vader taunts Obi Wan "Your powers are weak, old man" before slaying him. Finally, in the fifth Harry Potter film, Voldemort tells Dumbledore "You've lost old man" whilst possessing Harry during the Duel in the Ministry Atrium.
	+ In appearance and biography, Dumbledore also resembles two characters in Ursula K. Le Guin's *Earthsea* books. The first of those is the main character, Ged, who is recognised from his childhood as an extremely powerful and talented wizard, but in his pride, ignores warnings about the risks involved, confident his power will protect him. However, after a terrible accident caused by his pride, he is forced to reconsider his views, spends a long time undoing the consequences, and later becomes a respected and well-known hero, as well as the headmaster of his old school. The second character is Archmage Nemmerle, the old headmaster of Ged's school during his studies here, who gives his life to save the young wizard during the aforementioned accident. He has a bird familiar that vanishes without a trace when Nemmerle dies.
* Dumbledore and Harry Potter are also quite similar in some ways: They were Gryffindor students, they wear glasses (Harry wears full moon and Dumbledore wears half-moon), both are half-bloods, both their mothers were Muggle-born and both were brilliant Hogwarts students. Both also had defeated powerful Dark wizards, were talented duelists, had an affinity for magic involving love, and acted as leaders of their own covert organisations. In addition, Harry and Dumbledore both possessed outrageous tempers that when witnessed were great enough to cow and frighten even those closest to them.
* Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood in the film series, named her cats after Harry Potter characters: she has a cat named Luna and another named Dumbledore.
* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Dumbledore tells Draco Malfoy: "Years ago I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices." There has been some debate about who he is referring to. Possibilities include Tom Riddle, Gellert Grindelwald, Severus Snape and himself.
* In addition to the portrait of Dumbledore that was hung in his office automatically after his death, a second portrait of him was hung in several places in Hogwarts castle and could have also been in the Headmaster's office.
* J. K. Rowling has said that if she could meet any character in the *Harry Potter* novels for dinner, it would be Dumbledore, as she feels she would have a lot to discuss with him and she would love his advice.
* The LEGO version of Albus Dumbledore makes a cameo appearance in the 2014 film *The LEGO Movie* alongside other characters from popular LEGO sets. In the film, he is a Master Builder and sits next to Gandalf at a meeting of the other builders. When addressed by Vitruvius, Dumbledore becomes irritated by his inability to pronounce his name properly. He, along with the other Master Builders was captured by the villains and later rescued. He speaks in a high effeminate voice. It is completely unknown if he was killed during the attack of Evil Cop's patrol to Cloud Cuckoo Land and its subsequent destruction.
* While the magic used by Dumbledore to detect the traces of magic in the Horcrux cave was unknown to Harry, it may be related to the work of Aurologists as mentioned on The New York Ghost in the film inspired by *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*.
* In *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald*, which is set in 1927, Dumbledore has barely one hundred years in front of him, and is trying to construct and develop into the character known earlier in the franchise (chronologically later in the Harry Potter universe), according to Jude Law.
* Albus Dumbledore is described to be forty-five years old in *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* events set in 1927, indicating that those events happened before his forty-sixth birthday in this year.
* Even though Dumbledore's death is established at 30 June, in *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Chapter 25 (*The Seer Overheard*) Harry and Ron talked about how Harry still had three Saturdays of punishment with Snape, making classes to last until 19 July 1997, this in opposition to a typical school year which ends on the third week of June. This could mean Dumbledore's death happened in early June, with the Ministry of Magic finding his testament on 30 June.