Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jude Law reveals whether Dumbledore is gay in Fantastic Beasts 2

'As with humans, your sexuality doesn’t necessarily define you; he’s multifaceted'

Jack Shepherd
Wednesday 18 July 2018 09:40 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Jude Law’s casting as Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has widely been met with praise from across the Harry Potter fandom, the Oscar-nominee no doubt capable of matching Richard Harris and Michael Gambon’s performances.

However, fans have questioned JK Rowling’s decision not to make the character “explicitly gay” on screen, the author having previously confirmed the wizard’s sexuality.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Law was questioned about Dumbledore’s sexuality in the movie, the actor saying that, while we will not see anything explicitly on screen, we should remember that The Crimes of Grindelwald is just one part of an ongoing series.

“Jo Rowling revealed some years back that Dumbledore was gay,” Law said. “That was a question I actually asked Jo and she said, yes, he’s gay. But as with humans, your sexuality doesn’t necessarily define you; he’s multifaceted.

“I suppose the question is: How is Dumbledore’s sexuality depicted in this film? What you got to remember this is only the second Fantastic Beasts film in a series and what’s brilliant about Jo’s writing is how she reveals her characters, peels them to the heart over time.

“You’re just getting to know Albus in this film, and there’s obviously a lot more to come. We learn a little about his past in the beginning of this film, and characters and their relationships will unfold naturally which I’m excited to reveal. But we’re not going to reveal everything all at once.”

Law also said that, to some surprise, himself and Johnny Depp – who plays the movie’s titular villain – do not share any scenes in the movie. “As I said before, this is only Part 2 of a longer story,” he emphasised. ”In many ways that suits the relationship as it’s been many years since they’ve seen each other. So there’s complexity in that that’s fun to mine. Again, the past will reveal itself.”

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald reaches cinemas 16 November.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in