Jason Isaacs defends Paapa Essiedu against "racist" criticism of Harry Potter casting

The Harry Potter film alum praised the new Snape as "one of the best actors I've ever seen in my life."

By Mary Kate Carr | July 7, 2025 | 4:48pm

Screenshots: Late Night With Seth Meyers; The Graham Norton Show (YouTube)

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Jason Isaacs defends Paapa Essiedu against

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If there’s one thing we know about Jason Isaacs, it’s that he’s not going to bite his tongue. The outspoken actor has come to the defense of Paapa Essiedu, who was cast as Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter television series adaptation. “Paapa Essiedu is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they’re being is racist,” the Harry Potter film alum said during a panel at a recent fan convention in Denver (via Collider). “All the cast of the new Harry Potter TV series are amazing. They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully—you know, their digital tongues—when they see what [Paapa] does on screen.”

Though we may hope culture has gotten more tolerant in this regard, there are still inevitably racist reactions when a non-white actor gets cast in a role originated by (or written in the source material to be) a white person. There’s also still frequent racist backlash when a non-white actor gets cast in any major franchise role (even if it’s a brand new character, like Finn from Star Wars). Essiedu, unfortunately, falls directly in the middle of that Venn diagram. On the other hand, some have criticized the casting not because they’re against diversity in Harry Potter, but because of the murky implications of casting a Black actor in the role of Snape. (The character joined a Nazi-allegory hate group obsessed with “blood purity,” after all.)

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Whatever your opinion on Essiedu may be, Isaacs is firmly in his corner; the guy is a pretty big champion of Harry Potter as a whole. (He’s pro-transgender rights and doesn’t “understand who [J.K. Rowling] is on Twitter,” but ultimately still celebrates the franchise.) After the casting of Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, the former Malfoy patriarch took to Instagram to praise his former co-star. “It’s sensational news for Harry Potter fans, of which I am. Johnny is a brilliant actor. We did a film called Operation Mincemeat together and I adored him, as you will too when you see him in the show,” Isaacs said (via Variety). “I can’t wait to see what he comes up with. Johnny, if you ever watch this, enjoy yourself and top tip: Watch out for those elves, those pointy-eared backstabbing little bastards! Have fun. I’ll see you in Hogwarts.”

At the Denver convention, Isaacs reiterated his excitement for the new adaptation, saying, “The show is being made by the same people who made the films, and they’re just taking the time to make each book into a whole season—and it’s going to be great.”