Daniel Radcliffe On Whether He’d Return To ‘Harry Potter’ For Max’s Reboot

When Max (formerly HBO Max) first announced the development of a Harry Potter TV series, fans of the Wizarding World naturally wondered whether the original cast might be involved. Sure, they wouldn’t be able to reprise their roles — the series has been described as a “faithful adaptation” of the books, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione will definitely be played by a new trio of young actors. But with so many Hogwarts professors, parents, and villains to cast, it doesn’t seem that implausible that a few familiar faces could return in new capacities.

Whether they want to or not, well, that’s a different question. Daniel Radcliffe, who originated the titular role in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, brought up the series in a new interview with Deadline’s Pete Hammond.

“With the TV show that’s been announced … Potter was always going to be something that carries on and on and on,” he said. “Like, it’s way too big a literary phenomenon to ever just stop with the series of films that we did.” The actor added that it’s actually “sort of nice” to pass on the baton, comparing it to a long-running character like Sherlock Holmes.

Would he ever make a cameo, though? “I don’t think so, no,” the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story star replied. “Certainly from everything I’ve read about the series … they’re starting fresh and it’d probably be weird to have me pop in.”

If you’ve been keeping up with Radcliffe post-Potter, you know that this answer isn’t too surprising. In a 2022 interview with The New York Times (i.e., before the series was even announced), he said he probably wouldn’t return for another Harry Potter film anytime soon. “I’m getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of Potter OK and I’m really happy with where I am now, and to go back would be such a massive change to my life,” he explained. “I’m never going to say never, but the Star Wars guys had like 30, 40 years before they went back. For me, it’s only been 10. It’s not something I’m really interested in doing right now.”

Radcliffe enjoyed reuniting with his co-stars for the Return to Hogwarts anniversary special in 2021, he explained, “because it’s not a part of [his] day-to-day life anymore.”

There is one aspect of the new Harry Potter series that Radcliffe has been thinking about, though. “The weird thought I have is that right now … there’s probably, like, an 8-year-old kid out there somewhere whose life is gonna change in a couple years,” he said in his Deadline interview. “My brain does go there.”

While Radcliffe has been vocal about the privilege and opportunities playing Harry Potter afforded him, he doesn’t necessarily want his own children to follow the same high-profile path. “I would love them to be around film sets,” he told Newsweek. “A dream would be for them to come onto a film set and be like ‘God, you know, I’d love to be in the art department. I’d love to be something in the crew.’ Some part of this [field], but not from that.”