Paapa Essiedu, who has been cast as Professor Snape in HBO Max’s upcoming Harry Potter series, has revealed he has received race-fuelled death threats since his casting was announced, including messages telling him to quit the role or be murdered.
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you,'” the actor told The Sunday Times of London.
“The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ So while I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be murdered… nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
Essiedu, who is known for his roles in Black Mirror and I May Destroy You, is set to take on one of the wizarding world’s most iconic characters, the brooding potions master previously played by the late Alan Rickman in the original film series.
His casting sparked a backlash from a vocal section of the fanbase, but Essiedu has made clear it has only strengthened his resolve.
“The abuse fuels me,” he said.
“And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I died instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of.”
His connection to the Harry Potter universe is a personal one, rooted in childhood.
Although he had never seen the original films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, he grew up devoted to J.K. Rowling’s books.
“My mum couldn’t afford a babysitter in the holidays, so she would take me to the library,” he recalled. “I loved Harry Potter. I never saw the films but the books were escapism when other things were less easy for me.”
Essiedu has signed on for ten years, a commitment he described to The Sunday Times as significant by any measure.
“I’ll be 45 by the time I finish,” he said, “and I know my life is going to change in a big way, but I have to just surrender to that. I could have children by the end of this.”
The new series, due to launch on HBO Max in 2027, features an almost entirely new cast.
Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton takes on Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley.
