These actors have refused to support the Harry Potter reboot, as Nicholas Hoult faces backlash

The new Harry Potter TV series hasn’t even landed yet, but it’s already proving seriously divisive. HBO’s reboot is expected to become one of the biggest TV launches of the decade when it arrives in December, with plans to adapt all seven of JK Rowling’s books across seven seasons.

Via HBO

While plenty of actors have signed up to return to the Wizarding World in a completely new incarnation, several recognisable names have made it very clear they don’t want to be involved.

The reboot has faced controversy because of its links to Rowling, whose comments and views on transgender rights have been widely criticised as transphobic. Now Nicholas Hoult has found himself facing backlash from fans after being announced as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart for season two.

Via Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Hoult will play the famously self-obsessed Hogwarts professor, whose supposedly heroic stories about battling dangerous creatures are eventually exposed as complete fabrications.

His involvement has already left some Harry Potter fans questioning whether they’ll be watching the new series, but Hoult isn’t the only actor to have found themselves caught up in the show’s ongoing controversy.

Daniel Radcliffe has ruled out returning to Harry Potter

The actor played Harry Potter throughout all eight of the original films between 2001 and 2011, but a return to the franchise doesn’t appear to be on the cards.

In 2024, Radcliffe poured cold water on speculation that he could make an appearance in HBO’s new adaptation.

His relationship with Rowling has become particularly strained over the years after he publicly backed transgender people and criticised her comments on gender.

Via Warner Bros

Rowling has previously said she is unlikely to forgive Radcliffe for his vocal support of transgender rights and accused him of ‘cosying up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights’.

Radcliffe responded by telling The Atlantic: ‘It makes me really sad, ultimately. I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is, to me, so deeply empathic.’

Nicola Coughlan has made her feelings pretty clear

Bridgerton and Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan is another name fans have previously imagined taking on a role in the new Harry Potter series.

Given her popularity and her performance as Penelope Featherington, she has been the subject of plenty of fan-casting speculation. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to see her wandering around Hogwarts, Nicola herself has seemingly put that idea to bed.

Via Netflix

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She directly criticised Rowling on Instagram following the Supreme Court ruling, describing the author’s response as a ‘new low’.

And when it comes to getting involved with the reboot, Coughlan was even more direct, writing: ‘Keep your new Harry Potter, lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole.’

That’s about as definitive as it gets.

Jared Harris turned down the chance to follow in his dad’s footsteps

Jared Harris could arguably have had one of the most interesting connections to the reboot, considering his dad originally played Albus Dumbledore.

Richard Harris portrayed Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore in the first two films, The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets, before his death in 2002 aged 72.

Via Netflix

So when Jared, known for The Crown, Mad Men and Chernobyl, was asked in 2024 whether he would consider taking over his father’s iconic role, fans were naturally curious.

The actor, now 63, gave an extremely short response when asked about the possibility of joining the new series: ‘No, thank you.’ And with that, another potentially perfect bit of Harry Potter casting was off the table.

Bel Powley has defended her decision to be part of the reboot

Not everyone involved in the new series has distanced themselves from Rowling or the franchise.

Bel Powley, who is set to play Aunt Petunia, has faced questions over her involvement after publicly expressing support for trans people while also saying she still loves Harry Potter.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Powley said she ‘strongly disagrees with Rowling’s views on gender’.

Via HBO

However, she also explained why she still wanted to be involved with the franchise, saying: ‘I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance. But, I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.’

With the reboot still a year away from arriving on screens, Nicholas Hoult’s casting suggests the conversation around who is, and isn’t, willing to enter the Wizarding World isn’t going away anytime soon.

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Featured image credit via Warner Bros/Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock