Jude Law was encouraged to make Dumbledore his own

Jude Law was encouraged to stray from previous portrayals of Albus Dumbledore when he took on the character himself.

The British actor plays a younger version of the iconic wizard in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, following in the footsteps of Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, who both took on the role during the Harry Potter film series. But when Jude began preparing to play the Hogwarts headmaster, he didn’t rely too heavily on previous performances.

“I did (go back and watch Richard Harris and Michael Gambon’s performances), but I was freed up immediately by Jo (J.K.) Rowling and (director) David Yates, who said, ‘Come on, there are 80-odd years between them. You’re not him yet,’” he smiled during an interview with SFX magazine. “There are little things I wanted to pick up on that Harris and Gambon did, but it was just an excuse to go back and get into the world. What am I doing this weekend? I’m going to watch all of the Harry Potter films and pretend I’m taking notes!”

In the movie, Dumbledore is called to resist dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald’s reign of terror, with the pair having shared a deep and mysterious summer-long relationship when they were teenagers, which ended on a tragic note. And Jude hints that Dumbledore’s history greatly shapes his part in the film.

“I think Dumbledore feels somewhat isolated, and that in order to progress and do the right thing he’s going to have to face up to demons that he’s carried, and actions that he’s taken in his past,” the 45-year-old teases. “He’s complicated. But you know, unmistakably, as is mentioned in all the books, he has this sparkly and mischievous quality which is such a lovely thing to be able to sprinkle in.”

Grindelwald is played by Johnny Depp, while Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston also star in the flick.