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Cillian Murphy asked to make this the headline: He's "categorically not" in the Harry Potter TV series
The Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders actor isn't interested in playing Voldemort for the HBO Max Harry Potter show.
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The cast of the upcoming Harry Potter TV show from HBO Max is constantly making headlines as actors sign on to join the iconic franchise – despite everyone telling them not to. Cillian Murphy was one of the names fans kept dropping as a potential Voldemort for the show, but he’s not mincing words that he’s not involved in the Harry Potter TV series.
“I’m categorically not,” Cillian Murphy said to reporters while promoting the Peaky Blinders film. “Can you make that the headline?”
This isn’t the first time Murphy has had to distance himself from the role of Voldemort in the Harry Potter TV show, which is set to premiere on HBO Max in 2027. Part of this is wild speculation from fans, who see his distinctive facial structure as perfect for the disfigured villain. However, Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, added fuel to the rumors when he commented that he thought Murphy had already been cast as the villain and commented that he was a “very good choice” for the role.
There is always the chance that Cillian Murphy is intentionally misleading fans because he can’t talk about unannounced casting decisions, but his response here feels pretty definitive. The Harry Potter series is expected to be a divisive moment in pop culture, with fans sure to compare it to the existing movies and comment on the legacy of J.K. Rowling, which has become closely tied to her very public, very anti-trans beliefs. Those beliefs have made Rowling, not Voldemort, the villain of the Harry Potter series in the eyes of many fans.
Either way, we are unlikely to know who is playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter TV show for many years; the character doesn’t appear until Book 4, which wouldn’t be adapted for the screen until at least 2030 at the earliest.
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