JK Rowling has said she “couldn’t be happier” about the casting of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in the HBO adaptation of her beloved book series.
It was announced on Tuesday (27 May) that after auditioning 30,000 young actors, Dominic McLaughlin, 11, will play Harry, Arabella Stanton, 11, will portray Hermione, and Alastair Stout, 12, has been cast as Ron.
The three newcomers will step into the roles made famous by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who played the lead characters in eight blockbuster films.
Rowling, 59, who will serve as an executive producer on the series, said on X/Twitter on Tuesday: “All three are wonderful. I couldn’t be happier.”
McLaughlin, from Scotland, has received training at Performance Academy Scotland and has experience acting in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth opposite Luther actor Indira Varma and Ralph Fiennes. On screen, he appears in Sky’s forthcoming comedy film Grow, and the BBC adaptation of Marilyn Kaye novel Gifted.
Stanton, who will play Granger, has performed in the West End musical Matilda, as well as playing Control in the 2024 revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express.
Meanwhile, Stout, from the north of England, has received attention for his uncanny likeness to Grint. He previously starred in an advert for Albert Bartlett’s Jersey Royal potatoes.
The announcement follows months of sporadic casting announcements for the show’s supporting characters, including Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, a part played by Alan Rickman in the films.
John Lithgow will star in the series as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall. Additionally, Luke Thallon will play Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse will take on the role of caretaker Argus Filch.
Rowling's involvement in the series has drawn controversy from some fans of the franchise for her outspoken and repeated criticisms of trans rights, which led to a rift with the films’ three original stars, who have distanced themselves from Rowling in recent years.
Rowling has denied being transphobic, but has previously stated that she would “happily” go to prison for misgendering a trans person rather than refer to them by their preferred pronouns.
The author’s expansive Harry Potter world – including the books, films, video games and theatre shows – is worth an estimated £20bn ($25bn).
The HBO series is expected to debut in 2026, almost 30 years after the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), which was published in 1997.
The series is expected to run for a decade, with each season based on one of the seven Rowling books, and is expected to be a “faithful” adaptation of the bestselling books.
In a statement unveiling the new cast members, showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod said: “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.”
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