Daniel Radcliffe has revealed whether he will watch the upcoming TV reboot of Harry Potter, the fantasy franchise that shot him to superstardom at the age of 11.
Radcliffe made his thoughts known on the controversial HBO series in a recent interview with the Associated Press, saying he’s “unsure” if he’ll tune for the show given how entrenched he’s been in the franchise and his general inability to watch TV.
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“I don’t know if I will [watch it], honestly. I’ve watched [and] been in a lot of Harry Potter already,” Radcliffe said.
“I don’t watch any TV. I haven’t seen Breaking Bad, I haven’t seen Mad Men, I haven’t seen some of the real classics. So, you know; eight hours is a lot of anything to watch,” he added.
The actor went on to decline offering advice to 12-year-old Dominic McLaughlin, the child star who will take the reins as the iconic titular wizard in the TV reboot.
“I’m really, truly in the business of not giving Dominic advice. He doesn’t need any advice from me,” Radcliffe said.
“I don’t want to haunt this poor child through interviews. so I have no advice for him. He’s going to be amazing, and I think I’ll get to meet him someday and I’m very excited about that,” he added.
Despite declining advice in this instance, Radcliffe and McLaughlin have exchanged words at least once.
Last year, Radcliffe revealed he sent his successor a letter wishing him well ahead of a role that will catapult him into the spotlight.
“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,’” Radcliffe revealed.
“I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them. They just seem so young. I just look at them and say, ‘Oh, it’s crazy I was doing that at that age,’” he added.
Alongside McLaughlin, the TV reboot stars Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, the role previously played by Emma Watson in the films, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, filling the shoes of previous star Rupert Grint.
The HBO series – which will devote each of its seven seasons to retelling a respective book in J.K. Rowling’s original series – has garnered controversy ever since it was announced in 2023.
From fans’ lacklustre reaction to the original trailer, to mass backlash over the casting and the scrutiny on Rowling’s involvement given her divisive stance on trans people, the show has endured a wave of negative headlines ahead of its premiere next month.
Alongside the core trio, the Harry Potter series stars John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, Janet McTeer as McGonagall and Nick Frost as Hagrid.
The first episode of the reboot will hit Australian screens on December 26, 2026.
Originally published as Daniel Radcliffe reveals whether he will watch Harry Potter TV reboot