Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out in support of the actor set to portray Harry Potter in the forthcoming series reboot.
The role of Harry Potter in the HBO series will be played by Dominic McLaughlin, with Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout cast as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively.
While some fans initially expressed dissatisfaction with the casting choices, Radcliffe addressed these concerns during an interview with Screen Rant.
During the conversation, he also reflected on the challenges of achieving fame at a young age.
“In some ways I think getting famous when you are young is almost easier because then all the weird things about fame are so intertwined with your life that they don’t feel weird when you come up against them,” he remarked.
Radcliffe made his stance clear on fans’ protective attitudes towards the original films.
“Dominic is going to be better than me,” he asserted.
He expressed a desire to leave the new cast to focus on their work without interference.
“I would like not to be weird spectral phantoms in these children’s lives and just let them get on with it,” Radcliffe stated.
“It’s going to be a new thing, a different thing and they’re going to be better than me, I’m sure Dominic is going to be better than me.”
He added: “I learned as I went. I look back at what I did now with a lot more kindness and I find it less embarrassing now that I’m older.”
Furthermore, Radcliffe offered some words of wisdom to the young actors in the new series.
“I would say, have the best time and lean on the crew,” he advised. “Everyone has an image of how we were all raised on the set by the best British actors, but Maggie Smith wasn’t coming in and giving me advice on how to grow up. That’s not their job.”
“The people that we were really close to were the crew. The crew were some of my best friends, they are still the people who I am really close to.”
The original cast members of the Harry Potter films, such as Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have publicly distanced themselves from JK Rowling due to her comments on transgender issues.
Rowling has previously criticized Radcliffe and Watson, accusing them on social media of aligning with a movement she claims undermines women’s rights and encourages the transitioning of minors.
Radcliffe has previously responded with a statement via the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention organization, stating: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”