Featured Image Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Harper's Bazaar UK
Topics: Harry Potter, TV And Film, Celebrity, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Harry Potter, TV And Film, Celebrity, Social Media
Later this year, Potterheads will be treated to a brand-new HBO Max Harry Potter series that spans all seven books.
The upcoming series, which is set to premiere later this year, boasts a star-studded cast including John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger.
Additionally, The Lazarus Project star Paapa Essiedu will be joining the cast as none other than Severus Snape, who was played by the late Alan Rickman in the hit film franchise.
However, the decorated British actor has had to deal with death threats due to the casting choice, something he's since opened up about in a new interview with The Sunday Times of London.
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The outlet reports that, even since being cast as Snape, Essiedu has faced a 'backlash from those who believe a black man should not play a fictional wizard'.
"I’ve been told, 'Quit or I’ll murder you'," Essiedu shared. "It really matters.
"The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, 'I’m going to come to your house and kill you'. So while I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be murdered…That could age badly!"
He continued: "But, yes, while I hope I’ll be OK, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally."
Essiedu explained that the abuse 'fuels' him, adding: "And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world?
"That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I die instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of."
Essiedu said that choosing to ignore hateful comments online does not mean they are not happening, describing the problem as 'endemic'.
He also told The Times of London that he has not reported any of the threats to authorities.
"I don’t think some 17-year-old boy being put in jail for two weeks for threatening to murder me would actually make me feel any better," he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, the actor, who has also appeared in Black Mirror and I May Destroy You, admitted he’d never seen the original movies, but noted that he had been a fan of Rowling’s book series as a child.
"I was an avid reader as a kid," he said. "My mum couldn’t afford a babysitter in the holidays, so she would take me to the library. I loved Harry Potter. I never saw the films, but the books were escapism when other things were less easy for me."
Essiedu, who has signed on to the Harry Potter series for 10 years, acknowledged that it was a 'big commitment'.
"I’ll be 45 by the time I finish," he said, "and I know my life is going to change in a big way, but I have to just surrender to that. I could have children by the end of this."
The first series will launch in Christmas 2026 on HBO Max.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org.