What about Patrick McGoohan? If he’s still around, of course.
He’s actually busy with a big screen adaptation of THE PRISONER. (Unfortunately, Leo McKern passed away this past summer; there’s only one Number 2, and Leo is his name.)
Isn’t he a tad short for the role? I don’t mean his Hobbit-size; I always got the impression he was a bit short in real life.
It’s a pity Sir Ralph Richardson is dead; he made such a wonderfully acerbic wizard in Dragonslayer.
Peter O’ Toole, absolutely.
“Isn’t he a tad short for the role?”
How much does this really matter? For instance I found out that the guy who played Gimli in LOTR (Rhys-Davies?) was 6 foot 3 IRL and it would seem easier for a short guy to play a tall guy than the other way around.
Good choice, but he’s already playing Ollivander, the wand seller. Ollivander has a bigger role in Goblet of Fire (whenever that movie comes out) than in Sorcerer’s Stone, but not by much.
Ian McKellen and (My favorite double phallic name and actor) Peter O’Toole were my first choices.
A very close runner up would be Patrick Stewart. Class, power, and twinkle.
As much as I love Ian McKellen, I would hate to see him play Dumbledore. I think it would really lessen the impact of him as Gandalf to make him ‘generic Hollywood wizard’, even though I’m sure he would play the role excellently.
Patrick Stewart could certainly pull it off, IMHO.
Anyone else wishing Alex Guinness hadn’t died?
And my money’s on McKellen.
A) He’s the current ‘old english guy’ in Hollywood.
B) He sure can act.
C) The wheelbarrow full of money will probably overcome any objections.
I vote for Peter O’Toole.
I’ll also throw a couple of other names into the sorting hat:
Michael Caine - second only to O’Toole in the “eye twinkling” department
Jim Broadbent - great character actor
John Cleese - with a long beard and robe I imagine he makes a great wizard.
Tom Baker - just because it would be cool
oops! I forgot that Cleese plays one of the ghosts!
My choice?
Christopher Lloyd: Restrainable manic energy. Plenty of eye-twinkling. Already played a professor.
Althogh whenever I suggest this my girlfriend thinks I mean Christopher Lambert, who wouldn’t be as appropriate.
Neko
Well, as long as dead guys are being brought up, I’m voting for John Gielgud.
His is the voice I use when I read Harry Potter books to Michaela.
And the voice I hear when I read them to myself.
Sorry for the hijack, but HOLD THE PHONE!!! NO WAY!?!
Way-
http://freespace.virgin.net/rob.free-for-all/issue_34/film.htm
(There are probably more current postings, but this was written when it was a Mel Gibson project.)
How about Christopher Walken
Or, to make sure we hit everyone named Chris…
Christopher Reeve
I was thinking about this after I heard that Richard Harris had died.
My first thought was Peter O’Toole, then I saw an old Columbo episode with Patrick McGoohan in it and I thought that he could do it, but after reading the other posts here my choice would be Sean Connery.
He was part way there with that “grunge thing” at the beginning of The Rock and the twinkle is definitely there.