'I'm sure Dominic is going to be better than me': Daniel Radcliffe backs new Harry Potter lead

Daniel Radcliffe has voiced strong support for the young actor cast as Harry Potter in HBO’s forthcoming television adaptation, saying he believes the new lead will outperform him in the role that made him famous.

Speaking during a YouTube segment cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Radcliffe said he had full confidence in Dominic McLaughlin, who will headline the network’s planned eight-season retelling of JK Rowling’s novels.

“I’m sure Dominic is going to be better than me,” Radcliffe said. Reflecting on his own time as the boy wizard, he added: “I learned as I went. I look back on what I did now with a lot more kindness… But I was very much learning how to do it for a long time on Potter.”

The actor also made a pointed appeal to fans and media outlets, asking them to allow the new cast space to grow without being constantly measured against the original film actors.

“When these kids got cast, there’s a whole thing around the internet, around the world, people being like, ‘We’ve got to look after these kids,’” he said. “If you mean that… then one of the things you can do for me is not ask about Rupert and me all the time.”

Radcliffe was referring to Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the original film franchise. “I would like not to be weird spectral phantoms in these children’s lives, and just to let them get on it. Because it’s going to be a new thing,” he added.

HBO is developing the new adaptation as a long-form series expected to span eight seasons, with a projected premiere in 2027.

Radcliffe is currently promoting his upcoming NBC sports comedy, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, in which he portrays a disgraced filmmaker seeking redemption through a documentary project.