New young actors are stepping in to play Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint's characters in HBO's HBO's Harry Potter remake.

Tens of thousands of children auditioned to play Harry Potter movie counterparts.

How The Harry Potter Show's Dominic McLaughlin Compares To Daniel Radcliffe

Dominic McLaughlin Looks A Bit Less Like Harry Than Daniel Radcliffe

In the Harry Potter books, Harry is described as being short and scrawny, with knobby knees, hopelessly messy jet-black hair, and bright green eyes. These details are ultimately rather important, since Harry's black hair and glasses tie him to his father, James Potter, while his green eyes link him to his mother, Lily. The fact that Harry is always considered rather small for his age is in contrast with his "hero" status, but also makes him quick and agile, perfect for a Quidditch Seeker.

Daniel Radcliffe was a near-perfect match when he was cast for the Harry Potter movies in the late 1990s. He had that heavy black hair and a distinct magical quality about him, which was absolutely perfect for Harry. Radcliffe was also relatively short compared to his costars. The primary difference between the actor and his character was their eye color. Radcliffe has blue eyes, and the Harry Potter movies made minimal effort to adjust this to match the bright green described for Harry's character.

McLaughlin has lighter brown hair, and his eyes appear to be a grey-ish blue rather than green.

HBO's new pick to play Harry, Dominic McLaughlin, looks a bit less like the book character than his Harry Potter movie counterpart. McLaughlin has lighter brown hair, and his eyes appear to be a grey-ish blue rather than green. McLaughlin is also heavily freckled, which is not how Harry was ever described. Still, in this day and age, none of these qualities is a casting deal-breaker. McLaughlin's hair can be dyed, and the color of his eyes can be corrected through lenses or CGI. The most important factor here would be McLaughlin's acting abilities.

Before being cast for the Harry Potter movies, Radcliffe had appeared in the TV miniseries David Copperfield, in addition to some minor stage roles. Although this was a relatively short resume, the magical quality he brought to these roles contributed to Radcliffe's casting. McLaughlin has an even shorter list of past performances to draw from. Aside from the Harry Potter TV show, the actor has only taken part in one other project. The movie Grow is expected to be released in the fall of 2025, several months after McLaughlin's casting announcement for Harry Potter.

How The Harry Potter Show's Arabella Stanton Compares To Emma Watson

Arabella Stanton's Acting Experience Gives Her An Edge

Hermione Granger is described as having very bushy, curly brown hair and rather large front teeth (though these were eventually magically shrunk in the Harry Potter books). Aside from this, the Harry Potter books didn't spend nearly as much time focused on Hermione's physical traits as they did Harry's or even Ron's. Rather, it was Hermione's behavior that typically took front and center when it came to her character.

Emma Watson was another slam dunk in the Harry Potter movies. Earlier installments spent a lot more time ensuring that the actor's hair looked as the books had described. However, over the years, this fell to the wayside as Hermione's hair became more wavy than out-of-control curly. Watson never had the sort of buck teeth that the Harry Potter books described for Hermione. She famously wore prosthetic teeth during early production, but they were done away with before filming began in earnest. As far as Hermione's haughty mannerisms, however, Watson managed perfectly.

The Harry Potter TV show's Arabella Stanton seems to be another fantastic fit. Her dark brown hair appears to be naturally wavy, although not quite as tightly curled as described in the Harry Potter books. Of course, this could be adjusted by the hair and makeup department, assuming that HBO plans to adhere more to the books than the Harry Potter movies' Hermione design.

Given Matilda's precociousness in the stage production, Stanton should be able to step into a book-faithful Hermione's shoes rather easily.

Stanton has the most acting experience among her new Harry Potter costars, having starred in the West End's production of Matilda: The Musical from 2023 to 2024. This gives her a leg up on Watson, who was a newcomer to acting when she played Hermione in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Given Matilda's precociousness in the stage production, Stanton should be able to step into a book-faithful Hermione's shoes rather easily.

How The Harry Potter Show's Alastair Stout Compares To Rupert Grint

Alastair Stout Looks Quite Similar To Rupert Grint's Ron

The Harry Potter books describe Ron Weasley as being tall and lanky with red hair and copious freckles and a long nose. Of course, the most crucial detail is the color of Ron's hair, since this is a recognizable Weasley trait. In the books, Ron's lankiness contributes to the character's overall awkwardness, and his being much taller than Harry adds to the unique dynamic within their friendship (Ron's frequent struggles with jealousy regarding Harry's fame).

The Harry Potter movie's Rupert Grint certainly matched his character's book description in of hair. However, the movie actor is far stockier than Ron was said to be in the Harry Potter books. Additionally, Grint isn't particularly freckled and has a wider nose in comparison to the long and thin one described for Ron. Still, Grint was an excellent fit for this character in that he brought a sort of uncouth comedy to the role.

Alastair Stout's red hair certainly qualifies him to play Ron Weasley in HBO's Harry Potter remake.

Alastair Stout's red hair certainly qualifies him to play Ron Weasley in HBO's Harry Potter remake. He resembles Grint somewhat in build and appears to have a similarly wide nose and round face, which doesn't quite match the Harry Potter books' description of Ron. However, Stout is far more freckled than his movie counterpart. It's difficult to say whether the Harry Potter remake's new Ron will bring the same sort of playfulness to the character as Grint did, since this is Stout's first prominent role. Like his predecessor, Ron Weasley will be the actor's introduction to major acting.