Cillian Murphy finally responds to Voldemort casting rumours for Harry Potter TV series
The evil wizard was previously played by Ralph Fiennes.
Cillian Murphy has shut down speculation that he could portray Lord Voldemort in the new Harry Potter TV series.
The Peaky Blinders star has long been rumoured to play the supervillain – who was previously portrayed on the big screen by Ralph Fiennes – in the upcoming HBO show, filming on which began in July.
But during an appearance on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Murphy explained that while his children have shown him the online chatter, there was no truth to it.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said.
“Also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend, so good luck to whoever’s gonna fill those shoes.”
He also joked that he’s “very attached” to his nose, as Voldemort's nose was depicted as flat with two slits for nostrils in the films.
Back in December, original Voldemort actor Fiennes gave his blessing to Murphy to take over the infamous character during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Asked for his thoughts on the topic, Fiennes responded: “Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favour of Cillian. Yeah.”
Fiennes first appeared as the evil wizard in the fourth Harry Potter film, 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and went on to star in three additional films: Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2.
Asked whether he would consider reprising the role, Fiennes told Variety back in 2022 – a year prior to HBO announcing the new TV adaptation – that he would definitely be up for playing Voldemort again and that there was “no question about it”.
The majority of the main cast for the upcoming TV series has been announced, including the central trio of Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
Other major roles confirmed include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.
It’s yet to be confirmed who’ll be taking on the role of Voldemort.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has faced backlash in some quarters due to her views on transgender rights. In 2020, she published a lengthy statement detailing her stance on sex and gender debates – the essay was criticised and disputed by LGBTQ+ charities including Stonewall.
Rowling has also shared her views on social media, including in a 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which she insisted that “there are no trans kids” and opposed the idea that a child can be “born in the wrong body”.
In May 2025, Rowling set up the JK Rowling Women’s Fund, which describes itself as offering legal funding support to “individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights”.
Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, have distanced themselves from Rowling's views and have issued statements supporting the transgender community. Others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Jim Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.
The Harry Potter series will begin on HBO in 2027.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
