HBO’s Harry Potter television reboot has already caught quite a lot of attention. From the jump, fans have wondered exactly how the saga will translate over to the small screen (especially in our modern moment), a curiosity that has only grown as roles have been cast and set photos have surfaced.
One particular enigma has been the role of Voldemort, with countless rumors swirling around who might be playing the saga’s biggest villain. Some have claimed that the role is secretly cast with an A-list actor who won’t be revealed until the series premieres, but that hasn’t stopped a ton of potential names from being tossed around online. One of the most prominent has been Cillian Murphy, the Oscar-winning (and notoriously private) star of Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders.
During a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Murphy confirmed that he is not at all in contention to be playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter show. He also argued that whoever does take on the role is going to have a tough act to follow (an argument that many have made for… a lot of characters on the show), given Ralph Fiennes’ performance in the original films.
“No, my kids show me it occasionally, but no, I don’t know anything about that,” Murphy revealed. “I mean, also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So, good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes.”
Not He Who Shall Not Be Named
For the better part of a year, the rumors of Murphy playing Harry Potter‘s newest Voldemort have snowballed into something else entirely, despite absolutely no official confirmation of it from HBO or anyone else involved with the show. The fact that Murphy isn’t usually in the public eye, outside of the usual press junkets or offhanded interviews associated with his upcoming work, meant that he didn’t have an opportunity to address the rumor, either.
It even got to the point of Fiennes giving Murphy his blessing, with the actor saying during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in late 2024 that, “Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian. Yeah.”
If HBO and the team behind the Harry Potter show are, in fact, wanting the Voldemort’s casting to remain a massive secret until the show premieres, then this discourse probably isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Even though Murphy’s name came up quite a bit, he definitely isn’t the only A-list actor whose name has been thrown into the conversation. Matt Smith recently had to debunk his involvement, as well, and rumors and reports from various outlets (combined with the fact that anyone can make a fake viral tweet and pass it off as real news) have continued to muddy those waters. The most egregious “rumor” I’ve seen online was that Pedro Pascal was taking on the gig… which not only doesn’t make sense given his busy filming schedule (including two Avengers movies), but definitely doesn’t make sense given his vocal feelings towards franchise author J.K. Rowling.
Will “Who is Voldemort?” become this generation’s version of “Who shot J.R.?” With the first season of the Harry Potter TV show not set to debut until 2027, we’ll have to wait a long while to see.
(featured image: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images, Warner Bros. Pictures)
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