Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, known for his roles in "Bridge of Spies", "The BFG" and "Dunkirk", is reportedly at the top of the casting wishlist to play Dumbledore for HBO's new adaptation of "Harry Potter".

Rylance, who is starring as Thomas Cromwell in the highly-anticipated BBC period drama “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light” (based on Hilary Mantel’s third novel in Cromwell series), is being circled for the role, Variety reported quoting sources.

The publication said that while Warner Bros. Television hasn’t yet entered into negotiations with the actor, the studio has reached out to gauge interest and availability of the actor for the series.

A rep for HBO told Variety: “We appreciate that such a high profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.” Warner Bros had launched an open casting call for the leads Harry, Hermoine and Ron, who were played by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in the eight-part movie franchise. The series will most likely go ahead with newcomers for the top three characters and mix it with veterans for the adult cast like the movie franchise, which featured Richard Harris as Dumbledore and roped in Michael Gambon after his death. Late star Maggie Smith played Professor McGonagall and Alan Rickman starred as Professor Snape.

Rylance, 64, won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 2016 for his work in Steven Spielberg's “Bridge of Spies”.

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