The Daily Mail has revealed some of the cast members for BBC’s adaption of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. Potter alum Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) and Simon McBurney (Kreacher) are set to star.
Michael Gambon will play local council leader Howard Mollison with Julia McKenzie as his wife Shirley. Keeley Hawes will play their troubled daughter-in-law, Samantha. Simon McBurney will portray deputy headteacher Cubby Wall.
The BBC is creating a three-part mini-series around the book and will be aired some time in 2014.
Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon will be honored with the Richard Harris Award at this year’s British International Film Awards (BIFA). The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in the memory of it’s namesake (who also played Dumbledore.) Michael is the third Harry Potter star to receive this award, previously Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and John Hurt, Jim Broadbent and David Thewlis have been honored.
According to the press release:
Sir Michael Gambon’s career as an actor spans six decades, working across theatre, radio, television and cinema. Gambon’s iconic role in the television serial The Singing Detective won him his first of four Best Actor BAFTA TV Awards and roles in dramas such as Maigret made him a household name. The controversial The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; The Wings of the Dove; Mary Reilly; Sleepy Hollow; Gosford Park; Layer Cake; Charlotte Gray and The King’s Speech are just a few of the credits that have established Gambon as a leading light of the British film industry.
His work in Hollywood includes Michael Mann’s The Insider; Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd. Since staring in the Harry Potter franchise, Gambon is known by audiences of all ages around the globe. Sir Michael Gambon’s most recent film role was in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet which will be released in the UK in January. He is currently on stage starring in All That Fall at The Arts Theatre.
The Awards will be held on December 9th in London.
Harry Potter: The Quest has released another new video, this one is called Dumbledore and Harry: A Look Back. It takes a look at Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s relationship in the films. It contains interviews with Dan, Michael Gambon, Emma and David Heyman. Daniel Radcliffe talks about working with Richard Harris and Michael Gambon. The video also contains some new behind the scenes clips.
Finally I have uploaded the rest of my coverage from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II London premiere. You can see all the photos in the gallery (do NOT take without linking back to magical-menagerie.com). Watch the videos below:
Thanks to Digital Spy we have videos of the full London press conference for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II which was held on July 6th. Watch below and enjoy, there is some strong language and spoilers.
Scholastic have emailed to let us know that they interviewed some of the Harry Potter cast for their blog, Ink Splot 16, where they talk about the films. Some snippets may be read below and the full interviews are here.
Q: What were your thoughts when you read the 7th book, like was there any scene where you thought, “I have to film this. . .” Mark Williams: It wasn’t very nice for me having to deal with the death of Fred. And I think both of us found that a bit tricky ’cause we spent quite a lot of time in and around that area for about two days, and that was a bit unpleasant. Oliver: Yeah, it was. Mark: You just got to lie there! Didn’t you go to sleep? Oliver: Yeah, I was so in character. . . It was quite strange to read it. And then when we came to film that sequence in Part 1 when George gets his ear lopped off and everything that was really cool because I had never even had a scratch filming the films. Domhnall Gleeson: I didn’t know I was going to be in the movie, so the first thing I did was call my dad [who plays Mad-Eye Moody] and said, “Dad, you’re dead by page 20.” David Heyman: But it was sort of an amazing thing that we were making the movies concurrently with the books. Hogwarts, for example, has changed over the course of the films as we discovered what we had to do. We were making the films and we didn’t know what was happening. On the 5th film, the 7th [book] wasn’t already out. When we were developing the script, we’d left Kreacher out. And we sent the script to Jo [Rowling], because Jo reads all the scripts, and she called me and said, “You know David, you might want to put him back in. He’s got a role to play later on.”
Q: How was your first day on set? Michael Gambon: I was just petrified when I came in to take over [after the original Dumbledore, Richard Harris, died]. . .But you just fight your way through it and be brave for a week until you settle in. Domhnall: I nearly wet myself. I didn’t, but. . .I was really, really nervous. But it was really lovely. Everybody was incredibly welcoming. And you can tell the new guy on set, well, if it’s me, ’cause he’s got a wand in the corner going like, “Pew!” doing the sound effects. . .It was amazing though. James: I can remember our first day. We learned that’s it’s not all shot in order, so our first scene was the last scene of the first movie. But I can remember being more nervous than I have ever been and probably ever will be. And we were in this little place called Goethland, in the middle of Yorkshire, like on Sunday morning, the sheep walk down the middle of the street kind of thing. I can just remember being like, nervous. Bonnie: I remember starting on platform nine and three quarters, in the first film, and it was freezing winter. And I remember actually being the age of nine and three quarters on platform nine and three quarters. And I remember being absolutely freezing from nerves and clutching hot water bottles between every take. And I just didn’t know what any word meant. You know, “action, cut and rolling and speed,” all those words. . .I was just like, “What is going on?” I was so confused. In the film you have yet to see, we jump forward in time and we have Lily Potter, [Harry and Ginny’s daughter], and she was the same age as me when I started and we were on platform nine and three quarters, so it was very surreal going around in that whole cycle, that I started at that age and she started at that age, yet I was playing her mother. It was very bizarre.
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