Are the new Harry Potter leads younger than Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint were? Explained

On May 27, 2025, HBO Max released new information about their highly anticipated Harry Potter TV series. The network announced the names of the young actors who would play the leading Golden Trio in the upcoming show, sending fans into a frenzy.

The studio confirmed via their Instagram handle that Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout have been cast to portray Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, respectively. With the comments section under the post disabled, fans who had been eagerly awaiting the announcement turned to various social media platforms to share their thoughts on the casting news.

While the overall sentiment was largely positive, many had questions about the casted actors, which kept the conversation surrounding the series going. Among them, some noted that the show's actors appeared to be considerably younger than those from the beginning of the film series.

According to reports from publications such as Deadline on May 27, the actors for the upcoming Harry Potter series were finalized following an open casting call for British children between the ages of nine and 11. Danielle Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, on the other hand, were in the age bracket of 10 to 12 years when they started filming.

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The new Harry Potter actors are a little younger than the movie leads

As aforementioned, based on the information currently available, the actors cast in the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione for the upcoming Harry Potter series are comparatively younger than those from the movies. While the children in the former group are between the ages of nine and 11, the latter features actors who started in the 10 to 12 age range.

At the time of this writing, the exact ages of the young actors chosen to play the leads in the upcoming series are not known. However, when filming for the movie franchise began, Daniel Radcliffe was 11 years old, Emma Watson was 10 years old, and Rupert Grint was 12 years old.

That said, following the finalization of the cast, an article published on ABC News Australia on May 28, 2025, reported that the show's executive producers, Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, issued a statement expressing their satisfaction with the casting process and outcome. They said:

"After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron."

They further added:

"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there."

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Who are the actors who have been finalized so far for the upcoming Harry Potter series?

Besides Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout, other actors who have been finalized to play crucial characters in the upcoming Harry Potter series from HBO include:

• John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
• Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
• Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
• Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
• Luke Thallon as Professor Quirrell
• Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch

As the show's production date approaches, the audience expects more names to be revealed soon. Meanwhile, some fans believe that the rest of the cast will be kept under wraps until the show's release. They think this is intended to create an air of mystery surrounding the series and keep the audience excited for the revelation.

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While fans wait for the release of the upcoming series, they can binge-watch all the Harry Potter movies, currently available for rent and purchase on Amazon Prime Video.