The casting for HBO’s Harry Potter TV series has yet to be revealed, even with some reports suggesting that filming will be getting underway later this year. Among the many rumors of who could be stepping into roles made famous by many distinguished and lauded actors across eight movies, Ben Barnes
’ name has come up on several occasions as someone fans would be happy to see take over the role of Sirius Black. It seems that he would be more than happy to see that happen too.
Speaking to US, Barnes reacted to questions about his position as one of the internet’s favorites to take on the role previously played by the inimitable Gary Oldman in several of the Harry Potter movies. As it turns out, he is well aware of how much fans want to see him in the franchise. He said:
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of Harry Potter books I’ve signed or Gryffindor scarves I’ve been given as gifts. The amount of fan fiction that I’ve been drafted into very enthusiastically is incredible. It’s been going on for 20 years that people have been very kindly saying that they would’ve liked me to have played a young version of the Sirius Black character in Harry Potter, but now it’s been going on so long that I’m now the age of the actual character in the books.”
Could the ‘Harry Potter’ Series Have Found Its Sirius Black in Ben Barnes?
Along with Andrew Garfield and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Barnes’ name has come up many times as a fan-cast for Sirius Black, even before the TV series was in the works. Although the actor said that he has not spoken to anyone about appearing in the show, he would certainly be up for it. He added:
“They’re books that I love and at least half of my career has been based on literary adaptations that I’ve loved, and that one, I see no reason why it would be any different, but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it yet. I find it very flattering, but it is quite weird to be kind of lauded for something that you never did.”
Currently, the casting of the Harry Potter TV series remains shrouded in a cloak of invisibility. Just like fan casting rumors of Barnes’ possible inclusion in the show, there have been several actors said to be “confirmed” to be taking on some of the big roles in the series. These have included Mark Strong and Mark Rylance both being said to be in talks to play Dumbledore, Brett Goldstein wanted as Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Janet McTeer taking over the role of Minerval McGonagall.
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Some of these castings may turn out to be true, most will probably not. The one thing guaranteed is that whoever takes on the main roles in Harry Potter, they will be compared – for better or worse – to those who came before them in the beloved movie franchise that only came to an end 14 years ago.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Release Date
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November 16, 2001
- Runtime
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152 minutes
- Director
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Chris Columbus
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
