A Discovery of Witches re-casts character due to scheduling conflict
A Discovery of Witches star Trysan Gravelle, who plays Baldwin in the first two seasons, was forced to choose between filming season 3 and meeting his duties for Lord of the Rings. The show announced that Baldwin has been recast for season 3 by Peter McDonald, and the show’s stars are coming out in full support of both Gravelle and McDonald.
Star Teresa Palmer (Diana Bishop) took to social media to defend the casting change, posting several messages to fans in the announcement’s comments section explaining the difficult decision and also rallying support for McDonald.
Palmer didn’t pull any punches in her message to fans:
"Hey ADOW fam, how about we focus more on welcoming Peter to the team? Think about how it would feel for him reading some of these responses and how challenging it is to take on a role already beautifully established by someone else. Trystan chose to take another show over finishing up ADOW 3, it was a challenging pill to swallow for everyone and I’m sure a hard decision for Trystan to make too but please be conscious of what you’re writing on here. Peter is brilliant and such a wonderful & diverse actor. He deserves the same love you’ve afforded every other cast member of this show. Okay sending love – Diana"
Peter McDonald to take over as Baldwin on A Discovery of Witches season 3
The news arrives at an interesting juncture for A Discovery of Witches. Filming on season 3 wrapped a few weeks ago and the final season will presumably premiere in easly 2022. Fans are likely reacting strongly to the news of Gravelle’s departure because the announcement is coming now, after filming took place.
Gravelle had previously been cast in Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings series, which films in New Zealand. As with the Lord of the Rings movies, work on the series is projected to take longer than other shows thanks to the heavy reliance on special effects. It sounds like Gravelle had to decide between a show that was wrapping up and one that is just starting and could lead to big things. It’s not an easy situation, but thanks to COVID it’s a reality that actors are facing every day.
McDonald, however, will be a very fitting replacement. The Irish actor has Baldwin’s intensity in his gaze and he will no doubt do the role great justice.
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Though it’s sad that Gravelle won’t be around to bring Baldwin’s story together, it will be exciting to see McDonald taking over in season 3 and we welcome him to the fandom with open arms because at the end of the day it’s important to have gratitude for the cast and crew to continue filming in the middle of a pandemic.