New York: After a year-long search and over 30,000 auditions, HBO has finally locked the young trio who will be stepping into the shoes of the iconic characters of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in its much-awaited Harry Potter TV reboot.
“After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione and Ron. The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there,” showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer Mark Mylod said in an official statement.
The announcement evoked mixed response.
Some reacted warmly, while a section of netizens expressed concern for the young actors.
“Great head of hair on Ron goddamn,” one user wrote.
“Pretty good casting, I must say. Bravo HBO. Personally, I am really excited for the show to see the stuff that they had to skip in movies,” another commented.
“They are extremely cute. Best of luck to them, even though I think that this whole project is astoundingly ill-considered,” remarked one fan.
“Honestly, feel bad for them. It’s a huge chance, but the internet will be brutal from all sides for a lot of different reasons. Hope they have good parents and they stay offline,” read one Reddit comment.
“I don’t know why this show specifically has made me think a lot about how child actors are treated, but I also feel really bad for them. They are now trapped for a decade or more. If the kid who plays Harry decides after 2 seasons he doesn’t want to do it anymore, I have little faith that anyone in his life will support them in quitting the show. These kids are locked in for life, and they aren’t old enough to understand that,” read another comment.
One wrote, “Wish them good luck. Their lives won’t be the same from here on out. Also, probably will be compared to the ‘Originals’ forever, which might make it even harder.”
The cast of the new Harry Potter series! pic.twitter.com/Ldp82dvDRG
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) May 27, 2025
The supporting cast includes veteran actor John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Hagrid’s massive boots, Luke Thallon as Professor Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as the grumpy caretaker Argus Filch.
The shooting is likely to begin this summer.