HBO's ‘Harry Potter' Show Casts Harry, Hermione And Ron
Harry Potter
WB
After casting the majority of the adult characters in HBO's upcoming, controversial Harry Potter series, it has just cast its child actors who will obviously need to be internet-guarded to high heaven in the current online climate.
The actors are:
The three unknown actors are after a search of tens of thousands in an audition process to find the right cast. Here's a statement about that from showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer and director Mark Mylod:
Almost no information about the actors has been given out yet, which is probably for the best. Of them, only McLaughlin has an IMDB credit for a project that isn't out yet, the other two don't have pages at all. It is likely the case they are all close to the age of 11 as is the case with book trio and how old the OG cast were when they arrived.
There have been some amount of nerves about what would happen when Hermione Granger was cast and she turned out to be a black actress. JK Rowling has said in the past Hermione 'could' be black and her skin color was never specified, and she was portrayed as black in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play.
Harry Potter
WB
Not that anyone should speculate on people's race, but this is the modern internet, and unfortunately Arabella Stanton is instantly being put under a microscope for…looking mildly not white? Maybe? We already see speculation based on her name (Arabella might be…Greek? Stanton is…English?), but again, this is why these kids are going to need to be protected from what is no doubt going to be an awful internet discourse.
A totally separate issue is whether the show should exist at all, re-doing a series of wildly popular moves as an HBO series that is likely to span at least seven seasons and likely more than a decade in total given the seasonal gaps between shows. But this is WB and Harry Potter is a multi-billion dollar franchise, so here we are. We still have some key casting left to go (Voldemort, for one) but almost all the huge roles are cast now after this.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
On Tonys night, Broadway divided over Patti LuPone's remarks about Audra McDonald
More than a few years ago now, my mom asked me why the UK's royal family seemed to be all over the news all the time. That's all I see when I turn on my computer, she said. I think that might be because you've been clicking on some stories about Meghan and Harry, I told her, leading to lots more stories about Meghan and Harry. Similarly, I've lately been treated to many variations on basically the same recycled story about the great offstage Broadway drama featuring Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald. Stop, I cry, though if they weren't my Meghan and Harry, I wouldn't keep seeing this stuff. In case they're not your Meghan and Harry, here's the deal: A recent New Yorker profile of LuPone made news, none of it good for her. In the piece, she's quoted saying disparaging things about two Black actresses, her fellow Tony winners Kecia Lewis and McDonald, Broadway's most decorated star. Some 700 Broadway performers signed a petition saying LuPone should be disinvited from Sunday night's Tony Awards for her bullying and racially insensitive remarks. She then profusely apologized, falling on her own knife like Liù in Puccini's 'Turandot,' and various stage actors have been weighing in on whether or not she should be forgiven. Now, Patti LuPone has always been unfiltered, in that one way like the Donald Trump she's said she hates; you do not want to be caught with your cell phone ringing when she's on stage. Only she comes off in this profile as generous and gigantic and human and hurt and self-sabotaging but also finally going too far in letting loose on others, and in general. Is she for real or putting on a show when shouting at New York Rangers, 'Take your clothes off, boys! Naked hockey! No cups — I want full frontal! HA!' She is in let-'em-have-it mode throughout, referring to Glenn Close, the actress who replaced her in 'Sunset Boulevard' 100 years ago as a 'bitch,' and telling the New Yorker writer Michael Schulman more than once that the now Trump-run Kennedy Center 'should get blown up.' Which, hello, is not in any way OK. Serious or not, and people who say these things always insist that they were not, it's wrong to complain about Trump's violent rhetoric and then go around talking like this. So LuPone should also walk those remarks way the heck back. And I do not love to see women tearing down women; are things really not hard enough? Kevin Kline got off easy in the profile; all LuPone said about him is that he was a terrible boyfriend back in the day. Despite all of the many posts I have read about the explosions that followed the publication of the profile, I would never have understood the genesis of the contretemps without the guidance of New York Times theater reporter Michael Paulson. He reported on what happened after LuPone complained last year that noise from the Black-led Alicia Keys musical 'Hell's Kitchen' could be heard in the theater next door, where LuPone and Mia Farrow were performing in 'The Roommate.' LuPone took her gripe to the Shubert Organization, which runs both theaters. So far, perfectly normal, and something that happens all the time. Shubert fixed the problem. But then, Paulson wrote, after LuPone sent flowers to the 'Hell's Kitchen' sound crew, she was videotaped describing the musical as 'loud,' and refusing to sign a 'Hell's Kitchen' playbill. That's when Kecia Lewis, who is in 'Hell's Kitchen,' responded with a video calling LuPone's behavior 'racially microaggressive' by reinforcing stereotypes. McDonald weighed in by posting some supportive emojis on the video. In the New Yorker interview, LuPone said of Lewis, 'Don't call yourself a vet, bitch.' Which was way over the line. She said McDonald was 'not a friend,' and then declared that she needed a nap. Of course she did; setting yourself on fire can be very draining. McDonald wisely said she didn't know about any rift between herself and LuPone. Lewis has wisely not made any public statement. 'For as long as I have worked in the theater,' LuPone said in her own statement, 'I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today. … From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theater has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else. I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right.' Both McDonald and LuPone have given me so much joy, not just over the years but this year, that this is drama I could have done without. McDonald ripped my heart out and then handed it back to me with her 'this-isn't-your-Momma's-Momma-Rose' performance in 'Gypsy.' I spent a lot more than I could afford to be on the front row with our Aunt Mimi Turque, who was cast by composer Jule Styne to play June in an early national touring company of the show. LuPone also showed me a wonderful time recently with her show at the Kauffman Center, where she received five standing ovations, one before she sang a note. It's the only time in my experience — Can you say 'gay icon'? — that there hasn't been a line outside a ladies' room at the Kauffman at intermission, and I went home so energized from her performance, which these days in particular is worth a lot. So what I want to say is that with everything going on in the world that the arts stand squarely against, energy spent on fury at someone who has groveled from here to Argentina is energy wasted. I still love both of you 'Ladies Who Lunch,' the Sondheim anthem to female rage that I've seen both of you crush. I'd like to think that LuPone learned something from this whole episode — though again, those comments about the Kennedy Center still do need clearing up asap. We could all of us, of course, be less eager to pounce and readier to forgive. The many ageist comments about Patti, who is 76, by those Audra fans who aren't ready to let this go, and say they never will be, aren't OK, either. Unfortunately, art doesn't always bring even the relatively like-minded together. As always, that's up to us. UPDATE: I thought McDonald would win her 7th Tony tonight for the same role that LuPone won for in 2008, but no, the award for leading actress in a musical went to Nicole Scherzinger for her Broadway debut in a revival of 'Sunset Boulevard.' Pretty sure LuPone would not have wanted to be at the awards show, since it was Glenn Close who introduced Scherzinger singing, 'It's As If We Never Said Goodbye.' And Oprah Winfrey, who presented the award to Scherzinger, made some interesting faces as she made the show's only veiled reference to the controversy, but she did not mention LuPone by name.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
King Charles' Cancer Is Incurable, Bombshell Report Suggests
King Charles' will die 'with' but not 'of' cancer, a bombshell report claimed Saturday. The report essentially confirms long-standing rumors that the king's cancer is considered manageable but ultimately incurable, which is the case for many older individuals afflicted by the disease. Charles is 76. The report will be unwelcome in the palace, as it will reignite speculation that the king's health is in a delicate state, rumors that were rekindled when Prince Harry said in a recent BBC interview that he didn't know how long his father had left to live. Charles' aides have consistently briefed reporters that he is, broadly speaking, winning his battle against cancer, and the king himself recently said he was on 'the other side' of the health crisis. The king is back to essentially running a full diary after being diagnosed with cancer last year, albeit with some modifications. The report, by the respected royal writer and associate editor of the U.K. Daily Telegraph, Camilla Tominey, also claimed that Charles will never move into Buckingham Palace due to his health struggles. 'The talk now is that he may die 'with' cancer, but not 'of' cancer following a rigorous treatment program,' she wrote. A spokesperson for the king declined to comment. Tominey, who was the first to break the news about Prince Harry and Meghan dating and also about the latter's row with Kate Middleton, added that planning for Charles' 80th birthday in 2028, while 'very tentative,' is going ahead. Tominey also claimed that Charles and Harry could be publicly reunited at the Invictus Games, in Birmingham in 2027, with palace aides quietly investigating whether the event could provide a suitable backdrop for a long-awaited reconciliation. It is understood officials hope any reconciliation would include Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The king last saw the children in 2022. Harry has said he can't bring his family safely to the U.K. and hinted some powerful palace figures want him dead. Intriguingly, Tominey suggests that a reconciliation might be considered because of the negative impact the narrative of estrangement is having on the king's reputation. She writes: 'There is an awareness that the impasse cannot continue forever, not least if it starts to reflect badly on the king.' Prince Harry said, in a bitter interview with the BBC following a comprehensive legal defeat on his security arrangements, that he does not know how long his cancer-hit father has left to live because the king won't speak to him. Harry also said he won't bring his family to the U.K., blamed his father for his security being reduced after leaving the royal family, and said he had 'forgiven' those family members who had hurt him. He added, 'Some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book but I would love reconciliation with my family.' The prince continued, 'There is a lot of control and ability in my father's hands. Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him.' Appearing emotional, Harry said, 'There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. As I said, life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Warning over Japanese knotweed growth in Norfolk village
People are being urged to keep away from part of a community meadow as work progresses to stem the spread of an invasive plant. Families using Greg's Meadow in Spixworth are being advised to keep their distance from part of a picnic area. Greg's Meadow, Spixworth (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) It is after the discovery of Japanese knotweed, a plant native to East Asia which has spread out of control since being introduced to the UK in the 1800s. Japanese knotweed (Image: PA) An area of the picnic area on the meadow has been fenced off to try and keep people away. The area which has been fenced off in Greg's Meadow (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) A notice fixed to the fencing states Spixworth Parish Council is "currently undertaking a treatment programme to manage and control the spread of Japanese knotweed on Greg's Meadow picnic enclosure". A notice on the fenced off area at Greg's Meadow (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) Matthew Field, vice chairman of the parish council, said: "Having recently been made aware of the presence of Japanese knotweed on a small area of parish amenity land, the council has sought professional advice and agreed a course of action to contain and manage the issue.' Japanese knotweed is identified by distinctive red stems and bamboo-like appearance. It can grow up to 8ft tall and its roots can reach as wide as 28ft. It can grow up to four inches a day and forms dense thickets which can kill native plant species, making it particularly harmful to the flora of the Norfolk Broads. Tackling its spread costs the UK nearly £250 million a year, according to invasive plant specialists Environet, with an estimated 5pc of homes affected across the UK. It can crack tarmac, block drains, undermine foundations and invade homes. Its presence can be enough to cut a property's value or prevent a mortgage lender approving a loan.
