A Hollywood legend accidentally ‘revealed’ a Peaky Blinders star as Voldemort in HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
Based on JK Rowling‘s beloved books, the show will depict a new iteration of Harry’s story at Hogwarts and beyond.
Ralph Fiennes – who played Voldemort in the film franchise – addressed his potential successor in an interview on the red carpet for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
According to The Sun, the Oscar nominee, 63, was asked: ‘Who do you think should fill your shoes for Voldemort in the upcoming HBO show?’
He responded: ‘I’m told they are already filled, aren’t they? I think Cillian Murphy is very good. A very good choice.’
Appearing panicked in the video, shared on TikTok, Ralph continued: ‘I’ve already said, I think Cillian Murphy is very good.
Ralph Fiennes seemingly accidentally ‘revealed’ who will be playing Lord Voldemort in HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series
Ralph, 63, portrayed the villainous wizard in the film franchise, from 2005’s Goblet Of Fire to 2011’s Deathly Hallows Part 2
‘I think they’ve cast it, haven’t they? You don’t know?’
Turning to his team, the actor said: ‘I don’t know. I thought they had.’
It is unclear whether Ralph had simply believed previous speculation that Peaky Blinders star Cillian, 49, would take on the iconic villain.
The Oppenheimer star had been placed at odds of 6/1 to be cast as Voldemort, according to industry experts at OLBG (Online Betting Guide).
Cillian later shut down the rumours himself, while on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Acknowledging his children showed him the online buzz, the actor disclosed: ‘I don’t know anything about that.’
He added: ‘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.’
Cillian, who is beloved for his role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, previously shut down speculation linking him to Voldemort
The Oscar nominee appeared to believe Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy (pictured) had been cast in the role
Writing online, Harry Potter fans seemed unconvinced that Cillian will play Voldemort, as one wrote: ‘Someone who just won Best Actor two years ago is not doing a TV show book remake.’
Another added: ‘I also don’t think he will be Voldemort, but that being said, if he was, he would deny it, and Fiennes would be more likely to accidentally let it slip than Cillian would.
‘Fiennes and he just worked together, and it could have come up, and Fiennes just wasn’t aware it wasn’t announced.
‘Again, I don’t think it’s true. I’m just saying this comment from six months ago doesn’t mean anything.’
A third chimed in: ‘He’d nail the role but there’s no way he’d want to commit to that for so long.’
While a fourth remarked: ‘Cillian would’ve knocked it out of the park.’
Confirmed cast members include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Fans took to Reddit to discuss the interview – hitting out they felt Cillian was an unlikely choice
In May 2025, it was announced that Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton would will play the lead roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione
In May 2025, it was announced that Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton will play the lead roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod praised the ‘wonderful’ talent of the three newcomers: ‘After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
‘The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen.
‘We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.’
Elsewhere, it was revealed the makers of the Harry Potter TV series have hired a second child star to play the lead role of the young wizard as the mystery of a new face on set is solved.
The job of playing the boy wizard, who is the lead character from JK Rowling‘s books, was originally given to Dominic, who was unveiled in 2025.
It was confirmed that there’s a second Harry on set, a body double to cover for the main star in the HBO adaptation when he’s needed elsewhere to film scenes.
The body double, Isaac Geut, has already appeared on set and stepped in for Dominic when he’s not available for certain scenes.
‘He’s got the perfect mop of thick black hair and boyish looks that’s needed to play the very young Potter,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘In fact he looks so much like him that producers are talking about using him more extensively than previous stand-in actors that have appeared in the movies.
‘That’s how confident they are in him to replicate the appearance of the boy wizard.’
