Imagine you’ve spent your formative years playing the most recognizable characters in one of the biggest franchises of all time. The kind of roles where everyone knows who you are and you’ll probably find it difficult to be seen as anything else for the rest of your life. Except, now you have to watch someone else try and do the same thing. That’s the weird life that several original Harry Potter stars have found themselves in as HBO prepares to launch its television adaptation of J.K. Rowling‘s bestselling books. How do you react?
James Phelps and Oliver Phelps, who played Fred and George Weasley throughout all eight Harry Potter movies, have revealed that they’ve written personal letters to their successors, Tristan Harland and Gabriel Harland. Speaking with TV Insider, the brothers explained that they wanted to share a little of what they’d learned from growing up inside the Wizarding World, while wishing the newcomers luck with what is undoubtedly going to be a pretty extraordinary experience. Oliver explained:
We dropped them each an individual letter, just saying some experiences we’ve had over the years, and wishing them all the best with it. And it was a very, very, very private message or note, but it was more a case of wishing them all the best with what they’re doing, which I know that a few of the other cast members from the films have done as well. We just wish the best for those guys on their journey, because we were very lucky to have been able to play the characters for when we did.
We dropped them each an individual letter, just saying some experiences we’ve had over the years, and wishing them all the best with it. And it was a very, very, very private message or note, but it was more a case of wishing them all the best with what they’re doing, which I know that a few of the other cast members from the films have done as well. We just wish the best for those guys on their journey, because we were very lucky to have been able to play the characters for when we did.
- You speak up in the room where it costs you something.
- You would rather be wrong and brave than right and silent.
- People come to you when something needs facing.
- Dominic McLaughlin takes over as Harry in HBO’s series, which arrives in 2027 after
filming through 2025 and 2026. - Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were all cast in 2000, aged eleven, ten and
ten. - The Sorting Hat on screen was a practical puppet before any digital work went near it.
- You think three moves ahead and say one of them out loud.
- You are loyal to a small circle and ruthless about the rest.
- Being underestimated has always suited you.
- Alan Rickman knew Snape’s ending from Rowling years before the films got there, and
played it accordingly. - Tom Felton read for Harry and for Ron before landing Draco.
- Paapa Essiedu takes the role of Snape in HBO’s series.
- You are the one who remembers, and who follows through.
- You do the unglamorous part nobody volunteers for.
- Your word has never needed a backup.
- Robert Pattinson played Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire a year before he was cast in
Twilight. - Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander put a Hufflepuff at the center of five Fantastic Beasts
films. - The common room sits beside the kitchens, which is the most Hufflepuff detail in the books.
- You would rather be corrected than comfortable.
- You notice the thing nobody else in the room noticed.
- You have never been able to leave a question alone.
- Evanna Lynch was cast as Luna from an open call of roughly fifteen thousand girls, having
written to Rowling as a fan. - The tower door asks a riddle rather than a password, so a Ravenclaw can be locked out by
thinking too slowly. - Luna, Flitwick and Rowena Ravenclaw are all originals, which is rather the point of the
house.
Who Stars in HBO’s Harry Potter?
The new adaptation stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, alongside John Lithgow (The Crown) as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Ozark) as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Rubeus Hagrid, Warwick Davis (Willow) as Filius Flitwick, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) as Severus Snape, Lox Pratt (Lord of the Flies) as Draco Malfoy and Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) as Molly Weasley.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking Season 3 is currently airing on Food Network, while HBO’s new Harry Potter series premieres December 25, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest news and updates on the biggest and best movies and shows heading to your favorite streaming platforms soon.
Harry Potter
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Dominic McLaughlin
Harry Potter
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Arabella Stanton
Hermione Granger
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Alastair Stout
Ron Weasley
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Minerva McGonagall
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