Summary
HBO recently confirmed the first six actors for the highly anticipatedHarry Pottertelevision series cast.John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, and Paul Whitehouse are all set to be part of theHarry Potterreboot, but countless roles remain to be cast.
There’s a lot of focus right now on who will be playing those parts, particularly Lord Voldemort, but there is also a lot of skepticism surrounding the entire project. This is especially because ofHarry Pottercreator JK Rowling and the controversies that have been surrounding her personal beliefs in recent years.
One actor who will not be joining the cast isBridgertonstar Nicola Coughlan, as she has publicly hit out at Rowling.TheHarry Potterauthorcelebrated the Supreme Court’s recent gender ruling, which provides the official definition of what a woman is, which is based on biological sex. That means that transgender women aren’t considered to be women in the law, and Rowling celebrated that news online. The Bridgerton star responded to that on social media by sharing an article titled, ‘This is a new low for JK Rowling,’ while she wrote,“Keep your newHarry Potterlads. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole.”
It’s clear that Coughlan has no interest in being part ofthe upcomingHarry Potterseries, which is a legitimate blow for HBO, as she’s one of the most talented actresses in the business right now. She would certainly have fit into the world ofHarry Potterdue to her ability to bring humor and heart to any role. However, she’s standing up for her convictions and beliefs, and she’s not the only person who is outraged by Rowling and her opinions.
It isn’t just actors who are being turned off the upcomingHarry Potterseries either, as audiences are only losing interest in the Wizarding World that Rowling created due to her beliefs. Many fans boycotted theHogwarts Legacyvideo game because of Rowling, and it appears many could showcase the same attitude toward HBO’s upcomingHarry Pottertelevision series.Frost had to turn comments offhis personal Instagram post, which was sharing his excitement about playing Rubeus Hagrid, due to how many negative responses it received. People were being critical of the British actor for agreeing to be part of the series due to Rowling’s beliefs, making their displeasure known vocally.
Rowling’s decision to be so vocal with her controversial opinions has certainly made many people think twice about their Harry Potter fandom. At the same time, theHBO adaptation will likely still perform wellin viewership due to how popular the franchise has become over the years, with the story going far beyond Rowling at this point. However, she is the one who created it, and that’s something that will have an impact moving forward. It will be interesting to see if even more actors choose to turn against theHarry Pottertelevision show to distance themselves from Rowling as much as possible.
