Jason Isaacs Rips Into Racist Harry Potter Fans After Paapa Essiedu's Snape Casting
Jason Isaacs is done being polite.
At FanExpo Denver, the actor best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the original Harry Potter films called out the racist backlash surrounding HBO's upcoming reboot — specifically the casting of Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.
"Paapa Essiedu is one of the best actors I've ever seen in my life," Isaacs said during a panel moderated by Collider. "I've seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they're being is racist."
Essiedu, a critically acclaimed British actor, is best known for:
- I May Destroy You (Emmy-nominated)
- Black Mirror
- The Lazarus Project
- The Outrun
- Genie
His casting as Snape — a role made iconic by Alan Rickman — sent a certain corner of the internet into predictable outrage. Isaacs didn't hesitate to call it what it is: pathetic and racist. And he's not just defending the casting — he's genuinely excited to see what Essiedu does with it.
"All the cast of the new Harry Potter TV series are amazing," he said. "They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen."
The new HBO Harry Potter reboot is still in development, with a new cast and a season-per-book format that's allegedly aiming for more depth and fidelity than the films. It's being overseen by:
- Showrunner: Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials)
- Director/EP: Mark Mylod
- Executive Producers: J.K. Rowling and David Heyman (returning from the original film series)
According to HBO, the series is meant to "lead a new generation of fandom" with a full reimagining — and apparently, some fans can't handle that. But Isaacs isn't worried:
"The show is being made by the same people who made the films, and they're just taking the time to make each book into a whole season — and it's going to be great."
Some people are throwing tantrums online. Others are just waiting to see the work. Isaacs is firmly in the second camp — and he's not sugarcoating what he thinks of the first.