Little Women on PBS: meet the just-announced cast

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 18: Actor Michael Gambon speaks onstage during Masterpiece’s ‘Churchill’s Secret’ panel as part of the PBS portion of the 2016 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour at Langham Hotel on January 18, 2016 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Michael Gambon as Mr. Laurence

Where you’ve seen him before: Giving sage advice to Harry Potter as the franchise’s second Albus Dumbledore. Gambon has also appeared in Viceroy’s House, Fortitude, The Casual Vacancy, and The King’s Speech.

His Little Women character: Mr. Laurence, the Marches’ kind neighbor who gives a piano to the equally sweet Beth. Grandfather to Laurie.

Predecessors: John Neville (1994), C. Aubrey Smith (1949), and Henry Stephenson (1933).