Harry Potter then and now: How TV and classic actors look side by side

Fans have been given their first look at Dominic McLaughlin in Gryffindor robes after the actor was cast in the titular role for the HBO production.

Updates on the television series have been drip fed to fans so far, with a first picture released in May. This showed of McLaughlin sat with Alastair Stout, who will play Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton, who has signed on to play Hermione Granger.

The three best mates and protagonists from JK Rowling’s wizarding world have been the focus of the updates so far. But there have also been announcements of the supporting cast, including news that Katherine Parkinson, Johnny Flynn, Paapa Essiedu, and John Lithgow are on board.

Filming has now started at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden with the series lined up to premiere on HBO in January 2027. It is thought that the plot will closely follow the Rowling books and also the eight films, which were released between 2001 and 2011.

Here is how the new actors compare in appearance to the previous generation. Before you ask, no mention can be found online of who is playing Voldemort, assuming the villain features.

Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe (2001-2011) / Dominic McLaughlin (2025-)

Scottish actor McLaughlin is a debutant but looks every inch the double of a young Daniel Radcliffe in early photos. The youngster will also star in Grow, a film out this summer.

Radcliffe, now 35 and a seasoned actor (and dog walker), has been mooted for a potential return but not revealed if he will be back. He can’t be playing Voldemort, can he?

Hermione Granger: Emma Watson / Arabella Stanton

No press photos have been released of Stanton in costume as the brainy and headstrong Hermione - but Stanton has been seen by thousands on stage as Matilda.

Watson is currently on a break from acting, but of the original three leads - she has had the highest profile post-Potter career with roles in Little Women, Noah, The Bling Ring, and Beauty and the Beast.

Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint / Alastair Stout

Stout has no professional credits to his name but impressed auditioners enough to get the leading role of Harry’s gurning buddy Ron Weasley.

On the bright side, Grint had little acting experience before taking the role. On the downside, he has done few productions of note since the final film wrapped.

Molly Weasley: Julie Walters / Katherine Parkinson

The no-nonsense but loving matriarch is a motherly figure to Harry as well as her own many children, in a chaotic household.

Julie Walters played the character for the films and the baton has passed to IT Crowd actress Katherine Parkinson to carry on the legacy.

Lucius Malfoy: Jason Isaacs / Johnny Flynn

Isaacs famously turned up for the Half Blood Prince, only to be told that Voldemort’s servant, and cold-blooded father to Draco Malfoy, was in prison for the episode and wasn’t needed.

Johnny Flynn is perhaps best known for playing Mr Knightley alongside Anya Taylor-Joy in the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Severus Snape: Alan Rickman / Paapa Essiedu

The fan favourite character was played with droll relish by Rickman in the original films. The potions professor is at the heart of the series and his character arc forms the basis of the main narrative.

Rickman died in 2016. The 35-year-old is well-known for his roles in the TV series I May Destroy You and Black Mirror. He has also acted in the film The Outrun.

Albus Dumbledore: Richard Harris (2001-02), Michael Gambon (2003-11) / John Lithgow

Irish actor Harris died in 2002 and was replaced by Gambon, making this the only major change of cast member across the original films.

Rowling had insisted upon a British cast for the original films but this high water mark has been lowered for the series, it seems, with the casting of US actor Lithgow - who is currently donning a British accent to play Roald Dahl in the West End.