‘Harry Potter’ Actor Paapa Essiedu ‘Wouldn’t Have Taken This Job On’ If He Couldn’t Handle Snape Casting Backlash: ‘My Priority Is the Work’
Paapa Essiedu says he accepted the role of Severus Snape in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series knowing he could face backlash. He has received racially motivated death threats over the casting, but says his priority is the work and that colleagues have supported him.
Essiedu’s version of Snape has a different look from Alan Rickman’s, including shoulder-length dreadlocks, a leather jacket and a black cloak. The actor says the character’s appearance was carefully developed with the costume department. Season 1, based on “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, is due to debut on HBO Max on 25 December.
In short
- Essiedu says he took the Snape role prepared for backlash.
- He has faced racially motivated death threats over the casting.
- HBO’s first season is due to debut on 25 December.
Explained simply
Severus Snape is a teacher at Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. He is a strict and often hard-to-read character whose loyalties and past are important to the wider story.
Paapa Essiedu is a British actor taking on the role in a new television adaptation of the books. Alan Rickman played Snape in the earlier film series, so the new casting and interpretation are being compared with a familiar portrayal.
The series is being made by HBO and begins with the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It revisits a story known to generations of readers and viewers, while introducing its characters to a new audience.