March 26, 2026 | 12:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - HBO CEO Casey Bloys has ensured that the filming locations of the Harry Potter series have "a serious security team" amid death threats and racist abuse faced by one of its actors, Paapa Essiedu.
"With all actors on any kind of big IP shows — and this is obviously one of those where you’ve got, you know, passionate fans, people with a lot of opinions — it can get scary in places," Bloys told Variety.
Furthermore, Bloys explained that they have put in place proactive measures through training and "best practices" in terms of social media handling. "nd obviously we’ve got a serious security team. So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen and we just try to be as careful as we can," he added.
Paapa Essiedu Receives Death Threats
British actor Paapa Essiedu received death threats and racist abuse after being cast as the character Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series. He even admitted to receiving a threat, "Quit or I'll murder you."
John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, and Paapa Essiedu star in the Harry Potter series. Photo: Instagram/@hbo
In an interview with The Times, the Ghanaian actor explained that he also received death threats via social media. "The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, 'I'm going to come to your house and kill you,'" Essiedu revealed. Despite being emotionally shaken, he hopes that he will be okay.
However, Essiedu also turned the insults into motivation that made him more excited to portray the character Severus Snape. The star of The Lazarus Project has long imagined being at Hogwarts with a broomstick and seeing a child like him represented in that magical world.
"That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I died instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of," said Essiedu as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
When asked if he would report the death threats, Essiedu straightforwardly answered no. “I don’t think some 17-year-old boy being put in jail for two weeks for threatening to murder me would actually make me feel any better,” he added.
Jason Isaacs' Support for Paapa Essiedu
According to a report from IGN, from the start, the Harry Potter series has attracted various controversies, including Essiedu's involvement as one of its stars. This decision has garnered harsh criticism on how the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's novels will change elements from the previous films.
However, Jason Isaacs denounced the harsh and racist criticism of Essiedu last year. The actor who played Lucius Malfoy even went as far as to call Essiedu one of the best actors he has ever seen in his life. "They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen," said Isaacs.
On Tuesday, March 24, HBO began releasing the first images from the Harry Potter series scheduled to air in 2027. Through a post on Instagram, a portrait of Harry Potter (Dominic McLaughlin) walking in his Gryffindor robe towards what seems to be the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch was shown. The caption "Tomorrow" and a lightning bolt emoji accompanied the post.
Deadline listed the lineup of actors set to star in the series created by Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod. Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton will each play the close friends of Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Other cast members include Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid), John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), and Janet McTeer (Professor McGonagall).
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