Daniel Radcliffe Reveals The Letter He Sent To The New Harry Potter Actor

The Boy Who Lived is coming to life once more for a whole new generation, and Daniel Radcliffe is more than happy to hand down his Hogwarts robes. Production on HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series began back in July, with the network revealing the new child actor who’d be helming the magical saga. 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin is the same age that Radcliffe was when he was first cast back in 2000, and Radcliffe recently confirmed he’s been in contact with the young star.

Radcliffe described his correspondence with McLaughlin during his Nov. 18 appearance on Good Morning America. “I wrote to Dominic and sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back,” the actor said. “I don’t want to be a specter in the lives of these children but I just wanted to write to him to say, ‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time.’”

The former Harry Potter star admitted he was inspired to get in contact after seeing a photo of the new show’s cast. “I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them,” Radcliffe said. “They just seem so young. I do look at them and say, ‘Oh, it’s crazy I was doing that at that age.’ But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time.”

McLaughlin is currently filming the upcoming reboot series, along with Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. The large-scale production is not slated to premiere until 2027.

Radcliffe has previously stated he has no interest in appearing in the new series. “My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” Radcliffe said back in 2023. “So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”