Call it Harry Potter and the Cursed Casting Process. It has been nearly two years since Warner Bros announced the development of a lavish new TV series adapting JK Rowling’s fantasy novels, and there’s yet to be a single actor confirmed. This week, it was reported that John Lithgow (Dexter) is set to take on the role of Professor Dumbledore, the elderly wizard previously played on screen by the late Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, and, in the abortive prequel saga, Jude Law. Names such as I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu have also been bandied around, reportedly in the running to play the oily Professor Snape. It’s easy to see why actors might be drawn to Harry Potter 2.0: it’s lucrative, high-profile work, a TV show that YouGov polling suggests four in 10 Britons will watch. But make no mistake: this new series should have every sensible actor running for the hills.
Even if you leave aside the biggest and most intractable reason actors should steer clear of Potter – namely, Rowling – there are countless grounds why signing on would be a dicey proposition. For one, the previous adaptation (the eight-part Potter film series, which ran from 2001 to 2011) was beloved by fans, and remains, for many, definitive. If you’re an actor cast as Snape, for instance, and Alan Rickman’s career-defining performance is your yardstick, it’s going to be impossible to measure up. That producers will be hoping Potter runs for seven seasons – one per book, each corresponding to a school year at Hogwarts – only makes the project less appealing; it is a major commitment for most of the cast, one that will define an entire chunk of their professional lives.
