When you think about it, 13 years — yes, it has been almost a decade and a half since the Harry Potter cast graced our screens in The Deathly Hallows Pt. II — is a pretty long time to go without a reboot for a franchise as huge as Harry Potter, not least in the age of IP. Yeah, sure, the Fantastic Beasts movies scratched an itch for the wannabe wizards of the world, and the triple-A video game Hogwarts Legacy provided a veritable Floo Network for millions of Potterheads. But neither hold a magically floating candle to the O.G. stories, right?
So now comes a TV series adapting the original books from HBO, which is expected to be epic in length and, as such, release over the course of a decade (or more).
The film series made stars of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, and boosted the international profiles of beloved British character actors — Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, Imelda Staunton, et al. There’s little doubt, then, that HBO’s Harry Potter is the hottest casting target for British talent this side of Game of Thrones, even if it is weighted down by the widely reported controversy around J.K. Rowling's online comments on trans rights. (HBO head Casey Bloys has described Rowling as “fairly involved” with the series’ development, while noting that her presence hasn't dissuaded anyone from signing up, per IndieWire.)
Nevertheless, all involved have a formidable challenge on their hands. Can they live up to the beloved character portrayals that gave the movies their magic? Time will ultimately tell — the series isn’t expected to release until at least 2027, and casting news remains thin on the ground. We know that Harry, Ron and Hermione will be cast from a pool of unknown child actors, as was the case with the films. Of the adult parts, Mark Rylance has been explored for Dumbledore, although the original Variety report notes that the actor is yet to enter formal negotiations.
Casting is well under way, then. But who should get the wands, robes, and magical motorbike? For this exercise, think of GQ as the sorting hat, as we pick through the most eligible British actors to join HBO’s new Harry Potter cast.
As mentioned, Mark Rylance is reportedly at the front of the pack to play Hogwarts’ kindly wizard-in-chief. It makes a lot of sense: he is an often soft-spoken, understated performer with gentle charm, even when playing cannibals (Bones and All) or monstrous tech moguls (Don’t Look Up). But if he gives the part a thumbs Dumbledown, we could also see Christopher Eccleston putting in a good shift. He is a little more severe, but that could make for a welcome change from previous interpretations and, having been in the most recent season of True Detective, he will be well-familiar to the creatives at HBO. At 71, Spider-Man actor Alfred Molina might be a little too long in the tooth to play a part that may take its actor into the mid-to-late 2030s, but he — like Gambon in the movies — can switch between gentle kindness and rage on a dime. (He’d rock a beard, too, wouldn’t he?)
Mark Strong’s name has also been thrown into the ring for this one by the rumour mill – perhaps he's little younger than the Dumbledore most imagine, and he doesn't quite have that bumbling genius vibe that you might get from a Rylance, but he radiates such effortless authority that it’s easy to see why he’s being considered. Plus, would look great in the robes.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Lazarus Project and I May Destroy You star Paapa Essiedu has been offered the role of Snape. He’s an actor whose star has been rising to somewhere fairly near the top of space (is there a “top” of space?) in recent years, with roles in Gangs of London, Saoirse Ronan’s film The Outrun, and new Netflix spy thriller Black Doves helping to propel him through the stratosphere.
If the rumours are true, it's an astute pick – Essiedu has shown himself more than capable of the sort of moody brood associated with the half-blood prince, and at the same time it's a strong pivot away from any attempt to imitate the performance that gave incumbent Alan Rickman an unassailable hold over the role in many people's eyes.
This is an especially tough one, because Robbie Coltrane’s bellowing benevolence was so unique. But there are a few names that come to mind. For another face plucked from the Game of Thrones ensemble, Mark Addy would suit the part well: he was all diaphragm as the reluctant King Robert Baratheon, thundering from the rafters about the day’s joust and otherwise getting pissed on good wine. Soften that performance and you can see a lot of Hagrid in him — a big, loud, imposing teddy bear. Nick Frost has rocked a similarly bushy beard in recent years, and would be especially appropriate if this interpretation of Hagrid leans into his funny side. Come to think of it, the aforementioned Alfred Molina would also be great at bringing out the character’s gentle-giant sensitivity, but you’d probably want an actor a decade or two younger. Nevertheless, Addy was my first thought, and a subsequent Google has it that the Reddit fan-casters agree with me, so there.
Brett Goldstein has also been floated for the role of Hagrid – and yeah, we can see it. That gruff grumpiness of Roy Kent in Ted Lasso might be a little more Groundskeeper Willie, but pair it with some of the charm and fun he shows in real life, for example in his podcast Films to be Buried With (and maybe make him a little more… cuddly, somehow?) and we could have a perfect paternal pal for Potter on our hands here.
You need a serpentine, slippery fellow for He Who Must Not Be Named; the sort of actor whose very presence feels terrifying, a constant danger waiting to strike. (It also helps if you can picture them taking on the look of Munch’s The Scream after a few hours of prosthetics and make-up.) The obvious pick, if his recent Oscardom hasn’t taken him out of the running — and if we’re to believe reports, it didn’t stop Oscar-winner Rylance — would be Cillian Murphy, whose sharp, spooky angularity just feels right for old Vold. I’d be tempted to punt for Fallout’s terrific Walton Goggins if he wasn’t American. And, for a younger pick, look no further than Stranger Things’ Jamie Campbell Bower, whose villainous Vecna is as gross and spine-chillingly malignant as you’d ever want Voldemort to be. He did play the young version of another evil wizard, Grindelwald, in the Potter film universe. But does that really matter?
A stern woman with a gentle, motherly side, and Maggie Smith nailed it (RIP). So it's another tough one for any actor to live up to, but there are a few who could do it well. One that jumps to mind apropos of her brilliant performance as House of the Dragon's Rhaenys — a steely, ferociously loyal leader with a soft heart — is Eve Best. Indie movie fans have also been especially partial to Lesley Manville since her ferocious turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, and she has since been one of the standouts in The Crown as Princess Margaret; there's a maternal fury to McGonagall, especially in the later films (and books), that you could see Manville harnessing.
And let's not rule out Sarah Lancashire. McGonagall is a stern woman who takes little to no shit and gives sage bits of wisdom in return. And that’s Sarah Lancashire all over. Whether as Catherine Cawood in BBC cop drama Happy Valley, or the steely face of Reed in Netflix’s spy thriller Black Doves, Lancashire has a glare you wouldn’t dare cross.
Rumours are also abound about Catastrophe and Bad Sisters co-creator Sharon Horgan being offered the role – perhaps a slightly younger, funnier pick than we would’ve imagined, but a very talented actor nonetheless so, maybe? Rachel Weisz is seemingly also in the picture, which feels similarly at odds with what we know about McGonagall, but it's hard to imagine anyone would be hugely upset with having an Oscar-winner of her calibre involved here…
This story originally appeared in British GQ.
.jpg)
