Paapa Essiedu has been given security protection on the set of HBO’s forthcoming Harry Potter television series after receiving death threats.
The 35-year-old actor, who is set to play Severus Snape, revealed he has been targeted with alarming messages since his casting was announced.
Mr Essiedu is stepping into the iconic role previously played by the late Alan Rickman in the original film franchise.
HBO chief Casey Bloys confirmed to Variety robust safety measures are now in place to protect the cast during production.
Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter in the new HBO series
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HBOSpeaking to The Times, Mr Essiedu detailed the severity of the abuse he has faced.
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit, or I’ll murder you,'” he said.
He also described the ongoing nature of the threats online.
“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,'” he explained.
Paapa Essiedu has been given security protection on set
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GETTY
“While I hope I’ll be OK, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job,” he said.
The actor added: “I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter, and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
Mr Bloys said productions tied to major franchises often attract intense reactions from fans.
He said: “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.”
Paapa Essiedu is stepping into the iconic role previously played by the late Alan Rickman
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Harry Potter
He added the network had anticipated potential backlash.
“We anticipated it and tried to have training, you know, best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it,” Mr Bloys explained.
“And obviously, we’ve got a serious security team. So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen, and we try to be as careful as we can.”
The series is currently in production and is expected to be released in 2027.
Mr Bloys said he is “thrilled with what I’ve seen” so far.
Joining Mr Essiedu in the cast are John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Dominic McLaughlin in the title role, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
The series is currently in production and is expected to be released in 2027
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GETTY
Mr Bloys noted that the television format offers more time to explore the story and its characters.
“One of the benefits of it, from my point of view, is spending more time with characters and story,” he said.