It can be quite an overwhelming experience for child actors to suddenly get thrust into the world of fame, and the main cast of Harry Potter had to endure that pressure from the get-go given the global popularity of the book series.
For instance, when the actor behind the titular character himself started out his work, he was only 11 years old. In fact, despite having only turned 12 when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premiered, Daniel Radcliffe had to represent the movie franchise in the promotional campaign, which included appearing in interview panels and talk shows all around the globe.
Now, 20 years later, HBO Max is working on an anniversary reunion special, like the one they did with the cast of Friends, with the main trio Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) returning alongside secondary characters like Gary Oldman’s Sirius Black and Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy.
But as most Potterheads will probably tell you, the latter has been actively engaging with fans over the past decade anyway, so appearing in this reunion special must sound like the least he’s done for the fandom over the years.
As for dealing with the fame of starring in the Harry Potter franchise, Felton recently revealed his golden rule in an interview with Square Mile, explaining:
“It can really affect you. I try to do as best as I can, really. We don’t really have too many examples – bearing in mind that when we did it, 20 years ago, obviously there was no social media. There wasn’t anything at all. To suddenly be in this world now where you can type in God knows what… I banned my mum from Googling me.”
Since Radcliffe has been somewhat candid about his experience of turning into a global superstar because of Harry Potter, and how it almost ruined his personal life, it’ll be interesting to see how many of the cast members will share similar stories in the upcoming Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts when it becomes available for streaming on HBO Max on January 1st, 2022.
