Dominic McLaughlin confesses it felt “surreal” donning his Harry Potter costume.
The 11-year-old performer is embracing the leading role – originally brought to life by Daniel Radcliffe in the cinema adaptations – in HBO’s forthcoming television reimagining of JK Rowling’s beloved magical book series. When questioned about how the transformation felt, he revealed to BBC News: “A bit surreal to be honest, because I was always a huge Harry Potter fan when I was younger.”
The young star will be reuniting with his Grow co-star Nick Frost following their collaboration on the new film. Regarding the Potter universe, Dominic characterised the forthcoming television revival of the wizarding tale as a “dream”. He continued: “It was like the dream role, of course, so I’m thrilled to be able to be doing it.”
HBO had previously confirmed that Dominic would star alongside Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton – who will play Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively – in the programme.
Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod commented: “The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen.”
Nick – who is portraying Rubeus Hagrid in the revival – recently disclosed that filming will span “10 or 11 months a season”, with one series mapped out for each of the seven books.
He told Collider: “I’m just so excited to get going. I’ve gone in to do head sculpts and have your hand stand and stuff, and they say, ‘Oh, have a look at this.’ And you’re like, ‘Wow. That’s the coolest thing.’ I love films.”
He added: “I’ve loved cinema my whole life, so to be part of that universe now and that they’re showing me, like, a dancing mushroom, it’s like, ‘That is so cool!'”
Additional stars confirmed for the series include Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall) and John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), whilst certain roles – such as Lord Voldemort – remain shrouded in secrecy for now.
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