Daniel Radcliffe has ‘passed on the torch’ to the child actor playing Harry Potter in the new TV adaptation with a sweet letter of support.
The actor, 36, famed for his leading role in the movie franchise adapted from J.K. Rowling’s novels, wished upcoming star Dominic McLaughlin, 11, ‘the best time’ in the upcoming HBO series.
Daniel explained during an appearance on Good Morning America: ‘I wouldn’t say that anyone who is going to play Harry has to [reach out].
‘I know a few people who are working on the production so I wrote to Dominic and I sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back.
‘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.” And I do.’
Daniel Radcliffe has ‘passed on the torch’ to child actor Dominic McLaughlin, 11, (pictured) who is playing Harry Potter in the new TV adaptation, with a sweet letter of support
The actor, 36, is famed for his leading role in the movie franchise adapted from J.K. Rowling’s novels (pictured in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, 2004)
The Woman in Black star said he didn’t want ‘to be a spectre in the light of these children’, but was keen to wish his successor well.
Dominic has bagged the role of Harry, Arabella Stanton will play Hermoine Granger and Alastair Stout will portray Ron Weasley.
Daniel, who was also 11 when he filmed the first Harry Potter film, became nostalgic as he reflected on his own experience and how young he was.
He said: ‘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”. But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time.’
Fans have been hopeful that the original cast including Rupert Grint, 37, who played Ron and Emma Watson, 35, who took on Hermione, will have a cameo in the series, but the star ruled it out.
He told ComicBook.com: ‘My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere.
‘So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way.’
New line-up: Arabella Stanton is playing Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout (right) is Ron Weasley; pictured with Dominic
Daniel made the sweet revelation during an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday (pictured arriving to shoot the show in New York)
Emma Watson, Daniel and Rupert pictured in 2000 as the original cast
Daniel insisted he wishes the team luck with bringing the Harry Potter books to life for a new audience.
‘I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.’
One original face will be returning for the series as Warwick Davis, 55, will be reprising his role as charms Professor Filius Flitwick.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘Hogwarts has always held a very special place in my heart.
‘When I first stepped into Professor Flitwick’s robes all those years ago, I could never have imagined the journey this character — and the wizarding world — would take me on.
‘Thank you to all the fans who have kept the magic alive — I can’t wait to see you back in the classroom. Here’s to further adventures at Hogwarts.’
Meanwhile Tom Felton, 38, has been reprising his iconic role as Draco Malfoy in the Broadway stage production of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
A first look image from the summer showed Dominic dressed in character for the role of the wizard, marking the start of filming.
Daniel, who was also 11 when he filmed the first Harry Potter film, became nostalgic as he reflected on his own experience and how young he was (pictured in the film series, 2004)
Holding a clapper board on set, the young star looked strikingly like Daniel when he first stepped into the role all the way back in 2001.
The HBO TV show is said to be costing $100million per episode – and the three child actors taking the lead roles have been tipped to land themselves even bigger fortunes than the original stars.
Rowling, 59, released the first Harry Potter novel Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, followed by Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets the following year.
Four more titles in the beloved series were published by the popular author between 2000 and 2007.
She previously took to X to rave about the first two episodes after confirming that while she did not pen them herself, she did work closely with the writers.
She said: ‘I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!’
Each of the seven books in the series will be portrayed as its own separate season, according to HBO.
Filming for the new wizard TV series began this summer and is is set to debut on HBO and HBO Max in 2027.
