Daniel Radcliffe has advised journalists not to repeatedly ask the young actors in HBO's Harry Potter series reboot about the original cast members. In a recent interview, the actor expressed support for the newcomers while emphasizing the need to let them focus on their own experience. Radcliffe also shared that he contacted the new Harry Potter actor with encouraging words.
Daniel Radcliffe, known for portraying Harry Potter in the original film series, recently spoke out in an interview with ScreenRant about the upcoming HBO series reboot. He urged the press to refrain from constantly questioning the new cast about himself, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, the original actors who played Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively.
"When these kids got cast, there is a whole thing around the internet being like, ‘We have to look after these kids!'" Radcliffe said. "If you really mean that, then one of the things you can do is don’t ask about us – me, Emma [Watson] and Rupert [Grint] – all the time. I would like not to be weird spectral phantoms in these children’s lives. Just let them get on [with it], it’s going to be a new, different thing. I’m sure Dominic is going to be better than me."
The reboot features Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. Radcliffe revealed that he wrote a letter to McLaughlin after the casting announcement. "I wrote to Dominic and sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back," Radcliffe said. "I don’t want to be a specter in the life of these children but I just wanted to write to him to say, ‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time.’ And I do, I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them. They just seem so young."
McLaughlin described receiving the letter as "insane" and said, "I was going mad."
Rupert Grint also reached out to Stout, writing a letter before filming began. As Grint told the BBC last year, "I wrote him a letter before they started, passing the baton as it were. It was really just wishing him all the best with it. I had so much fun stepping into this world, and I hope he has the same experience… It’s quite strange to have the cycle happening again. I’m really intrigued what it’s going to be like."
Radcliffe mentioned that he has only watched the original Harry Potter movies once or twice and looks forward to showing the reboot to his children instead. "I’ll probably show my kid that so he doesn’t have to watch me," he quipped. "I think that will be more fun. I would probably enjoy it more… I hate watching myself, generally."
