One Bold Move Won This Harry Potter Show Star an OG Cast Member's Blessing
Daniel Radcliffe has passed the wand to Dominic McLaughlin, revealing on Good Morning America that he personally reached out to the newcomer leading HBO’s Harry Potter series. The original Boy Who Lived says the fresh face has his blessing—setting the stage for a magical handoff.
Daniel Radcliffe just passed the proverbial wand to the new kid playing Harry. And in a nice, very Daniel Radcliffe way, he did it quietly: a letter, a little encouragement, no cameo thirst, no hovering.
Radcliffe checked in, then stepped back
On Good Morning America, the 36-year-old said he reached out to Dominic McLaughlin, the young actor headlining HBO's in-production Harry Potter series. He wrote Dominic a note; Dominic wrote back with a sweet reply. Radcliffe made it clear he's rooting for the kids but has zero interest in looming over the production like, well, a ghost.
'I don't want to be a specter in the life of these children... 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."'
He also admitted the new cast makes him a little mushy: seeing photos of Dominic and the other kids makes him want to hug them. They look so young, and it blows his mind he was doing the same job at that age. For context: Radcliffe played Harry across all eight films, basically his entire childhood and teens on camera.
So who is Dominic McLaughlin?
McLaughlin is 11, and he told BBC News that landing Harry felt surreal. He grew up a big fan of the books and movies, and this was the dream role. He's only the second person to play Harry on screen, which is a wild sentence to type after two decades of Potter being so tied to one face. He has a couple of projects on the way before his Hogwarts debut: the 2025 films The Red Admiral and Grow.
Where the series stands
- HBO's new, in-production adaptation is building out the trio with Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron.
Radcliffe summed up his involvement perfectly: supportive, but staying out of the spotlight so the new kids can actually have their own experience. Good move.
If you want a refresher before the series lands, all eight Harry Potter movies are streaming on Max.