HBO locked down its “Harry Potter” reboot with tight security after one of its stars was hit with chilling death threats.
Ghanian-English actor Paapa Essiedu — who portrays Professor Severus Snape on the show — has been flooded with disturbing messages ever since joining the cast of the TV series last year.
Network boss Casey Bloys said the studio saw the backlash coming and put protections in place early.
“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.
“So for any show like that, we anticipated it and tried to have training, you know, best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it. And 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.”
Severus Snape was famously portrayed as a white character by Alan Rickman in the blockbuster “Harry Potter” films, sparking a wave of racially charged backlash when Essiedu landed the role in 2025.
In the books, Snape is the ultimate dark wizard vibe — sallow-skinned, greasy-haired, icy-eyed, feared by students but secretly loyal and deadly smart.
Recently speaking to The Times, Essiedu admitted the abuse he gets is constant.
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit, or I’ll murder you,’” he said. “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.’
“While I hope I’ll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in “Harry Potter”. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
However, Essiedu said he hasn’t reported any of the online threats.
“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 said.
Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the “Potter” films, slammed critics as racist and praised Essiedu as “one of the best actors” he’s ever seen.
“I’ve seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they’re being is racist,” Isaacs said at Fan Expo Denver in July 2025.
The new “Potter” series, due in 2027, is already tangled in wider controversy around creator JK Rowling and her outspoken views on transgender issues — a firestorm that’s driven a wedge between the author and several stars of the original films.
In a sharp contrast to Rowling’s views, Essiedu made clear where he stands.
He told The Times that he believes “artists in the trans community have a right to be treated with dignity and should be able to work without being intimidated.”
In May 2025, Rowling refused calls from her own supporters to fire Essiedu, saying she doesn’t have the power to dump the actor and wouldn’t use it even if she did.
“I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine,” Rowling wrote on X.
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