Dumbledore actor Richard Harris' son Jamie says he didn't like Harry Potter, 'it went on a bit too long' | Exclusive

Jamie Harris was very close to his dad, Richard Harris, who passed away on October 25, 2002. The veteran actor died of Hodgkin's disease, also known as Hodgkin's lymphoma, in London. In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, Jamie fondly talked about his dad and the best advice he ever got from him. Jamie also recalled watching Harry Potter and revealed he didn't like it much.

For the uninitiated, Richard Harris is popular for playing the supporting role of Albus Dumbledore in the first two of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

Excerpts from the conversation:

You come from an acting family. Your father Sir Richard Harris is very popular even in India. What’s the best advice he has ever given you?

The best advice he has ever given me was for my very first show. It was a very small character and he was racist again in a huge movie called In The Name Of The Father. I hadn't slept for two nights, I was so nervous. I didn't know how I was going to react. I called up my father on the day of filming and told him that I have no idea what to do. He asked me to go to the set early. So I did and there was no one else there. The set was empty. My dad said re-imagine the scene in your head and act it out now, how it's going to play. Then choose an area, sit down, make that place your own as if you are the king on a throne. Do not move from that position and do not stand up. And that's what I did. It was great advice because the worst thing you could do as an actor is fidget. You have to be very still. I sat there and I did the whole scene. That was the first advice my father ever gave to me in acting.

What was your reaction when you saw your father in Harry Potter as Dumbledore?

I loved my father in This Sporting Life (1963). It was one of the greatest English rebellion movie from his time. After that, he did a movie called Cry, the Beloved Country in 1995 that was set in South Africa. I never got around to watch it when he was alive. When my father died, I watched the movie and thought it was phenomenal. I was moved to tears in it. I really regretted not being able to tell him how much I appreciated his performance in the movie.

I watched Harry Potter at the first premiere of the movie in New York. It was such a big event. After we saw the movie, my father asked me, 'what did you think?' Now, I am not a massive fan of fantasy movies. So I told him, "Well, to be honest dad, I think it went on a bit too long." Luckily, he didn't take my criticism of the film. I have never watched another one since he died. When he died, they suddenly started televising all his movies and initially found it hard to watch. Now, 20 years later, it's different.

Does nepotism exist in Hollywood? Since you were a star kid yourself, what is your stance on it?

I think that's true, there is nepotism in Hollywood. To be honest, there is nepotism in ever business except sports. My father was never really attracted to Hollywood. He kind of got the bug of Hollywood at an early age, and he never moved away from it. I did a Hollywood action movie and the director was young, and he had no idea who my father was. He had actually never even heard of him. When you told him about Dumbledore, he would say, 'yes, I know Harry Potter,' but he didn't know the name.

Jamie Harris is currently seen on Amazon Prime's Carnival Row as Sergeant Dombey. It is an American fantasy television series based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, A Killing on Carnival Row. The series follows mythological beings who must survive as oppressed refugees in human society, as a detective works to solve murders connected with them.