Aidan Monaghan/HBO; Peter Mountain/Warner Bros.
Harry PotterTV starDominic McLaughlin could not believe his eyes when he was handed a letter from the first Boy Who Lived.
Last month, OGHarry PotterstarDaniel Radclifferevealed that hepenned a personal letter to McLaughlin, wishing him well on his Wizarding World journey and officially passing the torch. During a visit to BBC'sSaturday Mash-Up! Live, the 11-year-old actor shared his astonished reaction to getting the note.
"I got a letter from the man himself, from Daniel Radcliffe," McLaughlin said during the interview. "It was insane. I was on the train back up to Glasgow and my Dad tapped me on the train and just gave me this letter."
McLaughlin went on to share that he didn't fully realize what he was reading until he reached the end. "I read it and then I got to the bottom, and it said, 'Dan R,'" he recalled. "I was going mad, but I had to [keep cool]. I was on the train."
Radcliffe, who originated the role of the boy wizard, was the same age as McLaughlin when he began his own eight-movie journey. After beating out thousands of kids for the lead role, McLaughlin is set to headline the series over the next 10 years.
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Asked how things are progressing so far, the young actor said that filming HBO'sHarry Potterseries has been "going amazing." He added, "It's going really well. I've made good friends with everyone, it's great to be there."
In November, Radcliffe toldGood Morning Americathat he wrote a letter to McLaughlin and got a "very sweet note back" from the young actor. Though Radcliffe has spent the past few years distancing himself from controversial series author J.K. Rowling — whose transphobic rhetoriche has repeatedly condemned— he noted that it felt important to reach out to McLaughlin, who is on the verge of embarking on his own life-changing journey with Harry Potter.
"I don't want to be a specter in the life of these children but 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,'" Radcliffe said. "I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them. They just seem so young."
He added, "I just look at them and say, 'Oh, it's crazy I was doing that at that age.' But it's also incredibly sweet and I hope they're having a great time."
Radcliffe wasn't the onlyHarry Potteralum to offer words of support.Rupert Grint, who spent a decade as Ron Weasley,penned a few paragraphs to Alastair Stout, who is taking over the role in the HBO series.
"I wrote him a letter, before they started [filming]," Grint toldBBC News. "Passing the baton, as it were."
He shared that while he "can't remember exactly" what he wrote in his letter to Stout, it was "something to that effect" of feeling "really happy for him."
Grunt added, "I'm really intrigued [about] what it's going to be like. It's quite strange, having it, the cycle, happen again. I had so much fun stepping into this world, and I hope he has the same experience."
Aidan Monaghan/HBO
Alongside Stout and McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton completes the Golden trio, taking overEmma Watson's role as the studious Hermione Granger. Between them, the trio beat out 32,000 kids who auditioned for the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. McLaughlin previously appeared inGrow, a Sky comedy with Nick Frost and Golda Rosheuvel, while Stanton starred as the titular character in a West End production ofMatilda. Stout has no prior acting credits.
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HBO's upcomingHarry Potterseries (currently in production) is fromshowrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod, both also executive producers, and will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max. It has been billed as a faithful adaptation, expanding each of Rowling's seven books into individual seasons.
The young cast of the new series also includes Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, and Amos Kitson portraying Dudley Dursley.
They will be joined by adult stars including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
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