According to the Official London Theater Guide, Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon) will be replacing Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) in Alan Bennett’s new play The Habit Of Art due to Michael being ill. Frances De La Tour (Madame Maxime) is also in the play.
Nicholas Hytner, the National Theatre’s Director, who is also directing The Habit Of Art, commented: “We’re all extremely sorry that Michael Gambon has had to withdraw from The Habit Of Art but Alan Bennett and I couldn’t be more grateful to our old friend Richard Griffiths for agreeing to take on this considerable challenge at such short notice.
“The Habit Of Art is about the business of putting a play together as much as it is about making music or poetry. Richard Griffiths will play the actor, Fitz, who plays the poet W H Auden in a play set in a rehearsal room as a group of actors work through a play about Auden and Benjamin Britten. We’re looking forward to taking creative advantage of this unexpected twist in our own rehearsal process.”
There is a new video online at YouTube that has video interviews with the cast where they talk about Half-Blood Prince and more! Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Michael Gambon, and director David Yates are interviewed:
The Associated Press has a new interview with Michael Gambon, who plays Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films.
The regal Hogwarts headmaster, Rowling said, was gay. When Gambon later saw Rowling on the set of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” he had one question: “Is it because of the way I’m playing it?” While Gambon acknowledges he was “cutting around” on set upon learning the wizard’s sexuality, he states clearly: “It doesn’t make any difference.”
Long known as something of a trickster himself, he hypothesizes that Rowling merely blurted it out to surprise people, and says he identifies with the instinct “to cause trouble or make people think or kick people off their security blanket.” That goes for his acting, too. Gambon revels in doing the “strange, odd and unexpected,” particularly on the stage where he’s known for altering a performance from night to night.
The LA Times has a new interview out with Michael Gambon.
The actor says the enormity of the “Potter” phenomenon hit him again recently at the London premiere of “Half-Blood Prince,” where more than 4,000 kids turned up to get a glimpse of the magical cast. Gambon called it both heartwarming and bittersweet. “I was really moved by the number of children there. It was raining and everyone was drenched, some of them had been there for hours. You feel responsible for them in a way. All their books and pieces of paper for autographs were all wet, the pens wouldn’t work. It was so sad. It makes you realize how big this thing is.”The filming of the final Harry Potter movies, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” is underway but Gamon’s contributions aren’t schedule until February. He says that makes it feel as if the end is still far away for him, but he has already begun to reflect on the experience.
CBBC Newsround has announced that they will be interviewing cast members from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Monday and it will air on Tuesday, July 7th. They are asking fans to send in questions!
Newsround’s Ricky will be chatting to loads of the stars on Monday. NR is getting the lowdown from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Tom Felton and many more.
We want YOU to come up with the questions he’ll be asking. But you don’t have long to get your questions in – only until Monday morning. So get them in now! Make sure you watch the show on Tuesday to see the interviews!
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