Ian McKellen is a very, very talented actor. One of his largest roles was the time he spent as Gandalf, a wizard who appears in all of the 'Lord of The Rings' films. As it turns out, McKellen was also offered the chance to play the role of another famous wizard, Dumbledore. Originally, Richard Harris portrayed Dumbledore in the first two 'Harry Potter' films but he passed away in 2002, forcing the role to be re-cast. McKellen, however, declined the offer but for a very good reason. Sometime prior to his death, Harris had described McKellen as "technically brilliant, but passionless." "When they called me up and said would I be interested in being in the Harry Potter films, they wouldn't say what part but I worked out what they were thinking. I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I know disapproved of me."