The HBO television reboot of Harry Potter is well underway. Most of Hogwarts’ professors have been officially cast, including John Lithgow as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. However, one casting in particular has sparked conversation. Black British actor Paapa Essiedu will play Severus Snape.
Snape, played by Alan Rickman in the films, is traditionally drawn as a white character, even described in the books as having “sallow skin.” Apart from the typical complaints from racist internet trolls swarming the internet after the announcement, with allegations of “forced diversity” or “straying from book accuracy,” on the other side of the conversation, social media users have pointed out a glaring issue with this particular case of colorblind casting.
Colorblind casting, which involves casting actors in roles without taking into account their race, is, on its surface, a good catalyst for diversity in film and television, allowing for BIPOC actors to not be boxed into specific roles. In some fiction, colorblind casting works in stories where race or racial allegories are not a central element.
With that being said, colorblind casting can unintentionally perpetuate harmful stereotypes. The act of “not seeing race” is inherently flawed, as it not only takes away an important aspect of one’s identity but also ignores societal racial implications. In an ideal world, skin color would not matter— but that’s not the world we live in. Racism is systemic and embedded in the fabric of our society. Casting a BIPOC actor in a role written for a white actor or without a particular race in mind adds a layer of complexity to a character and how audiences view them, as well as the characters around them.
The books and films deal with the concept of blood purity in the wizarding world, allegorizing the ideas of white supremacists in real life. There are “pure-blood” wizards and “half-blood” wizards. The less Muggle (non-magic) blood a wizard has, the purer their blood status is. “Half-blood” and Muggle-born wizards are often met with prejudice throughout the series.
Snape, a half-blood, who was bullied by Harry’s father, a pure-blood, in his youth, grows bitter and cruel because of it. Moreover, Snape was infatuated with James’ girlfriend, Lily, a Muggle-born witch. When Snape is essentially rejected by her, he falls into what can be considered a “blood purity” cult, known in the series as the Death Eaters.
Still affected by his childhood ostracization well into his adulthood, Snape spends most of the series abusing his students, Harry in particular. Assuming Harry will be played by a white actor, that may not fare well with some audiences.
But, despite those bad optics, there is always the possibility that the show could go the “color-conscious” route. Color-conscious casting involves deliberately choosing an actor based on their race to enrich the story being told. However, given the bigoted views of creator J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books themselves being rife with racial stereotypes, this seems highly unlikely.
Even though he will not be playing the central character, there is no doubt Essiedu will be at the forefront of conversations about this series, meant to span nearly a decade by covering all 7 books. Essiedu’s casting as Snape almost feels like a deliberate choice to fuel the fire of racist internet trolls, giving them more ammunition to complain that his casting makes little sense and to get people talking. A Black actor in a big-name project like this should be celebrated, but we’ve seen the way films and shows with combative fanbases respond to BIPOC actors taking up space in them and the way their respective studios do little to protect these actors.
Fantasy and sci-fi fandoms often incite racist abuse toward BIPOC actors cast as their favorite characters, under the guise that they can “no longer relate to the character,” or that they’re “just not written well enough.” Take the incredibly racist responses to Rachel Zegler’s casting as Snow White and Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, John Boyega as Finn, and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose in Star Wars.
There was even a previous controversy within the Harry Potter fandom, after actress Noma Dumezweni was cast as Hermione Granger in West End and Broadway productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, with fans being genuinely upset that Hermione was no longer being played by a white woman.
Due to not only the recent failings of the Fantastic Beasts films, but also the mounting controversies of Rowling, the current standing of the Harry Potter franchise with ex-fans and even some current ones sees it as well past its prime. Given all of the negatives that will come with taking on the role, it begs the question: What does representation mean in this context? Is it worth it? What many casting directors have come to understand inclusion to mean is simply throwing in a BIPOC actor in a role, intended for a white actor, without any regard to their race. However, true inclusion does consider it when needed, otherwise, it feels performative, at best, and, at worst, problematic. If the backlash this series is getting from all sides is any indication, there needs to be more focus put on original fantasy stories written with BIPOC in mind.
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