Trans actors we want to see cast in HBO’s Harry Potter TV series, and who they should play

Let’s be honest: the new Harry Potter TV series sounded doomed to us from the moment it was announced.

For starters, when production begins next year, it will be doing so in the shadow of its creator – she who shall not be named – and her online comments about the trans community. 

Secondly, it will arrive in a world that appears to be increasingly intolerant of adult Potter fans. When a large group of self-styled Potterheads showed up at King’s Cross station for the annual “Back to Hogwarts Day” announcement earlier this month – despite it already being announced that it wouldn’t be going ahead – they were left devastated. But while they moaned, the internet cackled.

“I feel like society has got too focused on criticising Disney adults when Harry Potter adults exist,” wrote one social media user in a now-viral post. “I just think going to Disney World is significantly less cringe-worthy than crowding into King’s Cross for an announcement about a train that doesn’t exist.”

Even a star of films has called on fans to “be over it” by now. Earlier this year, Miriam Margoyles, who played Professor Sprout, expressed feeling “worried” about those still invested. “It was 25 years ago, and it’s for children,” she said.

Plus, it’s only about 12 since the final film hit cinemas, and with the Cursed Child stage show, the Warner Bros studio tour, the Hogwarts Legacy and Quidditch Champions games, and re-runs on ITV seemingly every two to three days, there’s hardly a dearth of Potter content.

And yet, HBO and Warner Bros Discovery are beavering away on the TV series. They’ve just put out a casting call, with a note saying they are “committed to inclusive, diverse casting,” and want to see auditions from actors regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation. Diagon Alley? More like Diagon Ally, sister!

The thing is, whoever is cast will have the Rowling question lingering over their careers for a long time. It’s doubtful that any fairly established or knowing actor will want the lead roles of Harry, Hermione or Ron, while you’d have to feel compassion for any up-and-coming thespian who naively put their name forward.

However, the TV network, as some on the internet are suggesting, has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever: cast trans stars in all the leading roles. It will probably take some serious witchcraft and wizardry for any to audition, but you never know.

So, here’s our very unserious trans and non-binary cast list for the leading characters in the series.

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Harry

Whoever slips on Harry’s invisibility cloak will need to know a thing or two about carrying a much-loved adventure franchise on their back. Tyler DiChiara, who played Cullen Row in The CW’s now cancelled Gotham Knights series, has done just that. He also played Kai, the lead in adventure comedy film Relish, which currently has a 98 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He’d keep the series in safe hands.

Another trans star with form for slaying in the mythical and magical space is Kaos actor Misia Butler. He’s been the breakout star of the new Netflix series, playing hero Caeneus, so you could argue that this would be a sensible next step.

Finally, Australian actor Morgan Davies could be a good shout, if he can nail an irritating Surrey accent. In last year’s horror movie Evil Dead Rise, he played Danny, a boy whose stupidity unleashed malevolent spirits upon the world.

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Ron

Elliot Fletcher played an excellent best friend to lead character Hero in Y: The Last Man, a role which sounds suspiciously similar to that of Potter sidekick Ron Weasley. We’ve found our man!

A good back-up option could be I Love Dick star Bobbi Salvör Menuez. They also starred alongside Amandla Stenberg as a werewolf in 2023’s supernatural horror flick My Animal, which feels Harry Potter adjacent enough. Plus, they’ve got that ginger gene down, a borderline essential characteristic for any would-be Weasley.

A final option could come in the form of ex-Hollyoaks star Tylan Grant, who would bring acting awards gravitas to the role.

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Hermione

The list of trans legends who could play the insufferable half-blood Hermoine Granger is fairly long, mainly because there are more transgender women breaking through the industry’s notoriously thick glass ceiling than trans men.

First up is non-binary star Bella Ramsey, who HBO is likely to have on speed-dial given they starred in The Last of Us and Game of Thrones, two of the TV network’s biggest hits. In the former, they play a frustrated teen trying to be level-headed in the most menacing of circumstances. Hermoine, for sure.

There are a few adored teen series the casting team could pull from, too: perhaps Yasmin Finney or Bel Priestley from Heartstopper, or Sex Education‘s Anthony Lexa. Finney is another star well-versed in appearing British national treasures: she played Rose Noble in Doctor Who last year.

Lastly, if HBO wanted a trans actress whose name is still relatively hidden in a chamber of secrets, they could look to Fangirls star Mary Malone, who also put in an appearance in Doctor Who, or Wreck and The Jetty actress Miya Ocego.

Whatever happens, it’s probably going to take more than a reparo spell to fix the new series’ reputation – and that’s before it’s even gone into production.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.