There have been three main Dumbledore actors in the core Wizarding World films: Richard Harris , Michael Gambon , and Jude Law.

Main film actors

  • Richard Harris played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.
  • After Harris’s death in 2002, Michael Gambon took over the role from Prisoner of Azkaban through Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
  • Jude Law later portrayed a younger Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films, starting with The Crimes of Grindelwald.

If you include other adaptations

Some counts online are higher because they also include stage and other screen adaptations, where additional actors have played Dumbledore in projects like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and various TV or film dramatizations.