The magic of casting: The frenzy around the new ‘Harry Potter’ reboot
A new era for the wizarding world
At primary school gates across the U.K., there’s a buzz that has even surpassed the notorious 11+ exams. The topic on everyone’s lips? The upcoming HBO reboot of “Harry Potter” and the casting of the iconic trio: Ron, Hermione, and the Boy Who Lived. The news has ignited a frenzy among parents and children alike, with local Facebook groups and community forums buzzing with excitement and speculation.
The casting craze
Parents are already weighing their children’s chances of landing a role in the series. One mother in Bedfordshire proudly announced that her daughter has been put forward by her agency. Meanwhile, comments on a Manchester newspaper story about the auditions are filled with people tagging each other, suggesting their kids apply. The guidelines specify that applicants must be U.K. residents aged between 9 and 11 years old in April 2025. However, some parents are already planning to bend the rules. In a Facebook group for Stockton-on-Tees, a woman lamented that her daughter would miss the age criteria by a week, only to be advised to lie about her age.
The allure and the risks
I must admit, the thought crossed my mind too. Although my son will only turn 8 next spring, making him too young, he is tall for his age and could probably pass for older. But I can’t imagine him standing still long enough for me to film his self-tape, let alone take direction from an impatient second AD as the light fades on a multi-million dollar shoot. This means, fortunately for us, there’s little dilemma in not putting him forward.
While being plucked out of obscurity to star as Harry Potter in a global TV series might sound like a dream come true, it’s impossible to ignore the darker side of child stardom. The Hollywood hills are haunted by the shadows of child stars broken by the work, the fame, and the aftermath. For some, such as Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, and Macaulay Culkin, there have been rumors of mental health struggles and drug use, accompanied by conservatorships or arrests. Earlier this year, a docuseries portrayed toxic work conditions on a cluster of Nickelodeon shows made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including one incident of sexual abuse.
The toll of fame
For others, the journey from the top of the call sheet to adulthood anonymity can take an even more tragic turn. In 1976, former child actor Anissa Jones, who had a long-running role in the ’60s CBS sitcom “Family Affair,” died from an overdose at the age of 18. Aaron Carter, who released his debut album at the tender age of 9, was found dead in his bathtub two years ago at the age of 34. In between, before, and after, there have been countless others whose short lives burned bright before being snuffed out too soon.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who played the original trio in the “Harry Potter” films, have all been open about the toll fame and lack of privacy have taken on their lives. Watson has said paparazzi began trying to get upskirt photos of her from the day she turned 18, while Radcliffe has struggled with alcohol. Grint, meanwhile, revealed the intense working hours at such a young age took their toll physically, and he suffered recurring bouts of tonsillitis during much of the filming.
The price of stardom
From the moment they were unveiled as Harry, Hermione, and Ron in August 2000, at the tender ages of 11, 10, and 11 respectively, their normal lives were over. Not just because they were suddenly making more money than most families will see in a lifetime, but because their fame and wealth made it difficult to integrate into regular life. There’s an apocryphal story that made the rounds in London in the early 2000s, when Radcliffe was enrolled at the prestigious City of London School. During a soccer match, when he messed up on the pitch, one of his teammates allegedly turned around and yelled, “It’s not fucking quidditch, Potter!” It was hard to tell where Harry began and Daniel ended.
A glimpse of normalcy
A few years after hearing that anecdote, I spotted Watson on the inter-city bus between Oxford and London one Friday evening. I was heading home from college for the weekend while she was clearly heading out for a night in the big city. Although at the height of her fame, she was still only in her mid-teens. As I watched her larking about with her friends on the bus – loudly, maybe even a little tipsily – I remember thinking it was lucky there were no photographers on board. Today, you wouldn’t even need the paps: in the age of camera phones, a video of the journey would have appeared online before the bus had pulled onto the motorway.
Ultimately, Watson, Radcliffe, and Grint have all reached adulthood relatively unscathed and with successful (if not necessarily prolific) post-“Potter” careers to boot. Most impressively, they seem to have turned out pretty normal. Instead of splashing out on a tricked-out Lambo, Grint’s first car was an ice cream truck. Watson is a UN ambassador. And Radcliffe has a reputation in the industry for being a model of politeness, even offering to fetch water for the crew during shoots.
The reality of child stardom
In another lifetime, I was working as a lawyer in Nickelodeon’s London headquarters when our office was taken over by a film crew shooting an internal promo video. The concept was a bunch of child actors pretending to run the office, and so my desk was commandeered by an adorable 3-year-old I’ll call Mia, who’d started her modeling career just a few months earlier. The Nickelodeon job was her first speaking role, and she was still getting to grips with it.
As it got later into the day, Mia was starting to tire and kept getting her lines wrong. She was asked to shoot the scene over and over but, fearful of upsetting her, no one told her why. They just kept saying she was doing a great job. In between takes, crew members brushed her hair, adjusted her costume, and offered her snacks while she basked in the attention of all these grown-ups. At one point, Mia merely looked around for her mom, who was in the green room, and a call immediately went out on the crew’s walkie-talkies: “We need the mother in here now!”
Mom appeared and stood next to me while we watched Mia shoot a few more takes. She was still stumbling on the last line. Realizing this tiny actor was running out of energy and he probably wasn’t going to get the shot, the director finally yelled cut. Everyone applauded. Mia beamed. Then she ran toward her mom, who scooped her up into a cuddle. As the exhausted 3-year-old nestled her head on her mother’s shoulder, I heard her say with satisfaction: “I did so well, didn’t I? Everyone clapped!”
Her mom, holding her close, didn’t reply.
For more information on the Harry Potter reboot, check out the trailer.