Gary Oldman reveals his thoughts on actors from the movies returning for the series, along with which character he would have liked to play. Oldman previously played Sirius Black, making his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. HBO's Harry Potter show has already cast many key characters, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Rubeus Hagrid. Filming for season 1, which is based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is set to begin this summer.

While speaking with Variety, and joked about how, as he grows older, he is getting closer to the right age to play the iconic wizard. As for whether the HBO series will cast any actors from the movie, Oldman says that he does not think the show will "go anywhere near people connected to the original." He also shares that he is curious to see how the show will handle book storylines that were cut from the movies. Check out Oldman's comments below:

My personal feeling is they're not going to go anywhere near people that were connected to the original. I'm actually very intrigued to see it because so much of the books were cut.

I would've fancied a go at Dumbledore. I'm getting up there now, it's the right age for Dumbledore.

So far, the HBO show has not cast any actors from the Harry Potter movies. This includes John Lithgow playing Oldman's ideal role of Dumbledore, along with Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout being cast in the respective roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. by not casting any actors from the movies, even in cases where such casting would make sense and generate substantial interest.

With Tom Felton now playing an adult Draco Malfoy in the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it was speculated that he could play Lucius Malfoy in the HBO show, but the role has instead gone to Johnny Flynn. Casting Felton as Lucius or Oldman as Dumbledore would have generated excitement, but it would have made the show more closely tied to the movies, and .

I agree with Oldman and with HBO that it is best not to cast any actors from the movies. Leaning too heavily on actors from the franchise will raise more questions about whether there needs to be a remake at all. His remarks about , as it can adapt certain scenes for the first time. This can be particularly valuable for his character, Sirius, whose backstory with the Marauders was largely cut from the movies.

In terms of Oldman's comments about playing Dumbledore, they are partly made in jest, but I have little doubt that he would have excelled in the role. Between Harry Potter, The Fifth Element, The Dark Knight trilogy, Darkest Hour, Slow Horses, and his many other projects, Oldman has tremendous range, and it is not difficult to imagine him as the wise and complicated Dumbledore. Nevertheless, at this point, I would rather see more of Oldman in Slow Horses and other projects outside as .

Source: Variety/X