Jamie Parker on Taking On the Role of Harry Potter

Jamie Parker talks the experience of taking on the iconic role of Harry Potter, and the hard won happiness of the Potterverse.

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There are a lot of fans who howled with rage when they learned that their beloved Hermione was being cast as an woman of color when Noma Dumezweni was announced int he role. But lost in the din was more unhappiness. Though Dumezweni became front and center for the attacks, the truth was, there was a sub-segment of Potterheads for whom all of the casting was The Worst. Including actor Jamie Parker as Harry. If it wasn’t Daniel Radcliffe, it just wasn’t ok.

The irony, of course, is that Parker is the biggest name in the cast, having starred in the smash hit The History Boys prior to this, which garnered awards on stage and on screen. But he admits, in an interview with the Sunday Times this weekend that playing the role of Harry Potter was simply something he never imagined he’d get the chance to do.

"“I mean if you asked me 12 months ago if I would be doing this I would never have picked it out of the hat.”"

He originally agreed to read the script because of his respect for Jack Thorne, who translated Rowling’s idea into the script that will be published July 31st. It also helped that he had “a professional crush” on director John Tiffany. But he still didn’t think he would get it–until the call came in the middle of a dress run through for his current show at the time Guys and Dolls. He claims he spent the rest of the performance with a “slightly shocked and stunned expression.”

But as an actor, he says, the role had been utterly fulfilling so far.

"“From where I am standing in the story it is a pretty good experience, but it does leave you rather purged. The happiness that exists anywhere in the Harry Potter canon is very, very hard won. When you read the books and feel Harry maturing from 11 and becoming aware of the flip side to life and its general malevolence, and then when you take that into your forties when various kind of childhood chickens come home to roost, and you’ve got the next generation coping with all of that — that’s a lot going on for Harry.”"

As for Noma, Dumezweni, when the topic comes up, he defends her completely, even going so far as to agree that Harry Potter could be played by a black actor. “Why not?”

"“We need to constantly reaffirm very simple things in our lives because we keep forgetting them. Anything that keeps asking the question ‘Why on earth should fictional characters be white, white, white?’ and demands an answer that actually stands up to scrutiny is good.. Any piece of storytelling needs to have some kind of internal consistency but that doesn’t have to extend to the colour of the character’s skins necessarily. It’s just not helpful. It’s not representative. It’s not humane.”"

And if we know one thing about Harry, it’s that the humanity of everyone–even Voldemort–should be respected. Because without that, there’s no difference between good and evil.

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