HBO is working on a new Harry Potter TV show, which will adapt J.K. Rowling's beloved book series in full. The sets are already going up, and they are impressive.
We know who will play key roles like Dumbledore, Snape and Hagrid, although HBO has yet to reveal who will be playing the three main character: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. As the show gets underway, the original actors behind those characters are getting asked their thoughts, and even whether they'd appear in the new series. Some, like Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), have at least jokingly suggested that it could happen. Daniel Radcliffe, the original Harry Potter from the movies, is pretty certain it won't.
But that doesn't stop people from asking! In a recent interview, The Movie Dweeb gave Radcliffe this prompt: if you had to pick a character to play in the new TV show, who would it be? “A moving portrait? I am trying to think what is like a fun role that is not too many days," Radcliffe replied. "I always thought one of the other great characters in the series is Sirius Black. [He is] obviously super cool.”
Sirius Black is Harry Potter's godfather and one of the many surrogate parents Harry collects over the course of the story. We don't know who will play him in the new show, but Radcliffe is certain it won't be him. "I can tell you, there is no world in which I will actually be playing that character, but I will give you the headline of ‘Dan Radcliffe says Sirius Black would be fun to play, but he won’t actually be doing it,'” he quipped.
Obviously, HBO is casting all-new actors to play the characters; it would be distracting to see an actor closely associated with the movies show up in this new context, and that's without getting into how Radcliffe is among the actors from the original films who have gotten themselves on the bad side of author J.K. Rowling, on account of Rowling being a vocal transphobe and Radcliffe publicly stating his support for trans people.
Still, I'm sure it would be fun for fans to see actors like Radcliffe pop up in a walk-on role here or there. We'll see exactly what's in store when the new Harry Potter show airs on HBO and Max sometime next year, or maybe in 2027; they haven't nailed down a release date yet. Filming is about to start in earnest, so there should be plenty to talk about.
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