Daniel Radcliffe has kindly passed the torch to 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin, who will lead HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV adaptation.
During Tuesday’s appearance on Good Morning America to preview his upcoming Broadway play, Every Brilliant Thing, Radcliffe, 36, revealed that he sent his young successor a note.
“I know a few people who are working on the production so I wrote to Dominic and I sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back,” recalled the British actor, who originated Harry in the beloved film series.
“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,’” he remembered of his message.
“And I do, I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them,” Radcliffe added, noting how young the three new leads seem.
“I just look at them and say, ‘Oh it’s crazy I was doing that.’ But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time,” he said.
Radcliffe was also 11 when he was first cast as The Boy Who Lived in 2000. His co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were just 10 and 12 at the time. The trio led the eight-film series as Harry, Hermione and Ron, three budding wizards who are faced with a new dark force each year while studying at Hogwarts. By the time of the final film’s 2011 release, Radcliffe and Watson were both 21, while Grint was 22.
In 2023, HBO Max announced it was adapting the famous franchise into a “decades-long” TV series, with each season based on one of the seven books in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series.
“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content, said in a statement at the time. “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World.”
Joining McLaughlin in the TV show are newcomers Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron. John Lithgow will take over as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, alongside Janet McTeer as Hogwarts headmistress Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape, Nick Frost as gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor Hagrid, and Paul Whitehouse as Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch.
Child actor Lox Pratt will play Harry’s nemesis, Draco Malfoy (originated by Tom Felton in the film series), and Johnny Flynn will portray Draco’s father, Lucius (played by Jason Isaacs in the movies).
The show began production in July at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the U.K., and is expected to debut in 2027.
© Independent Digital News & Media Ltd