Ezra Miller says gay Dumbledore will be ‘extremely explicit’ in Fantastic Beasts 2
Ezra Miller (Jamie McCarthy/Getty)
Queer Fantastic Beasts actor Ezra Miller wants the character of Albus Dumbledore to be gay as much as fans do—and it sounds like they won’t be disappointed.
Trailers for upcoming sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hinted at intimate moments between fan favourite Dumbledore (Jude Law) and his rumoured love interest Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), despite early suggestions from director David Yates that Dumbledore would not be depicted as “explicitly gay” in the blockbuster.
In an interview with Total Film, Miller—who plays Credence Barebone in the film franchise—weighed in on the controversy relating to the Hogwarts headmaster.
Fantastic Beasts stars Eddie Redmayne and Ezra Miller at San Diego (Comic Con (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
The actor said: “It’s a funny idea to me that every form of representation has to look the same.
“For me, personally, I find Dumbledore’s queerness extremely explicit in this film. I mean, all around. He sees Grindelwald, his young lover who’s the love of his life; he sees him in the Mirror of Erised. What does the Mirror of Erised show you? Nothing more than the most desperate desire of your heart.
“If that’s not explicitly gay, I don’t know what is.”
Actor Ezra Miller (Tim P. Whitby/Getty)
Addressing the controversies around the film, he continued: “Why don’t you wait until you see the film before you start talking shit on Twitter? Or wait to make up your own mind about something for once in your life. Do your own research. Make up your own mind.
“Follow your heart, and really, really investigate situations before you identify yourself and pick a side, and start throwing things at the opposition. Because that’s what’s totally screwing everything up right now. And it polarises us. We’re all human, and there’s a lot of things we can agree on.”
Miller praised the way that JK Rowling casually dropped news of Dumbledore’s sexuality in 2007 after the completion of the Harry Potter books, having hinted at it in text.
Ezra Miller (Jamie McCarthy/Getty)
The lifelong Harry Potter fan said: “People have to take a moment and acknowledge the gift that Jo Rowling gave us.
“[She wrote] one of the greatest characters in literary history, one of the most beloved characters across the whole spectrum of civil society…and then, at the end of writing that series, was like, ‘Oh, yeah, and he’s gay. What? Step to me.’ She is forever a god for that.”
Miller has previously explained how the Harry Potter novels gave him the strength to deal with homophobic bullying as a child.
His own character Credence had a strong queer subtext in the first Fantastic Beasts film, with the young wizard falling under the thrall of dark wizard Grindelwald.
The character of Grindelwald seems to have a hypnotic pull over many of the characters in the film franchise, but especially the queer men.
Trailers for the upcoming second film show Law’s Dumbledore gazing into the Mirror of Erised—an object that shows a person their heart’s truest desire—and seeing Grindelwald gazing back.
The final trailer, released September 25, included a further shot of an even younger version of Dumbledore (Toby Regbo) and Grindelwald (Jamie Campbell Bower) with their hands pressed together.
Young Grindelwald (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Dumbledore (Toby Regbo)
Law recently confirmed to Empire that the relationship would be given its time in the spotlight in future films.
He said: “People are very passionate about these stories and that particular topic doesn’t just deal with the characters in the book but people in real life dealing with their sexual orientation… so I can understand why it was emotionally charged.
“I know the full story. This is part two. There’s more to come.”
Director Yates told Empire: “The story of Grindelwald and Dumbledore, going forward [in future films], that is the story.”
But the controversially-cast Depp has aired contradictory opinions.
Depp told Entertainment Weekly: “I think it should be left up to the audience to feel it first, and when the time comes… it makes the situation with Dumbledore all the more intense.”
