HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series has conjured up a casting choice that’s both bold and brilliant: Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. Known for his powerful stage presence and sharp screen work, Essiedu is set to bring a fresh kind of magic (and emotional depth) to the Hogwarts professor we love to side-eye.
He Doesn’t Look Like Snape? Let’s Talk
When it first was announced that Essiedu, a classically trained Black British actor, was in talks to portray Snape, some corners of the internet had opinions.
Some fans have pointed out that Essiedu doesn’t fit the exact physical description from the books. In the “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” book, Snape is described as having “greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin.” The biggest gripe fans seem to have centers around ethnicity of the character vs. the actor that was cast. For those wondering, Dictionary.com defines sallow as “of a sickly, yellowish or lightish brown color.” So with the right makeup and styling Essiedu’s looks could definitely fit a version of Snape.
Here are the other reasons we think he will succeed in the role.
HBO Seems to Be Casting for Depth
Let’s be real; if this reboot was aiming for carbon copies, they wouldn’t have cast any of the other actors they have (and we wouldn’t be getting a series at all). One fan said it best, “I don’t have any issues if he was chosen personally. I don’t want the show to just be the movies in an episodic tv format. Take a few chances.” The new series, led by showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod (who signed on in 2024), seems to be doing just that by focusing more on spirit than mimicking the films exactly.
And Essiedu? He’s got the spirit in spades. His Shakespearean chops, especially his emotionally charged “Hamlet” with the RSC, prove he can channel complex characters with tortured backstories and morally grey decisions. Sound like anyone we know in a billowing black cloak?
His TV work (“I May Destroy You,” “The Lazarus Project”) shows he can go from icy and calculating to devastatingly vulnerable in a single scene. That’s the Snape we remember—not just a man with a hooked nose, but a man with decades of pain, secrecy, and yes, love, stuffed into a flowing robe of sarcasm and bitterness.
Essiedu Isn’t Rickman; and That Matters
Essiedu joins a lineup that’s already breaking molds, including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch (per Warner Bros. Discovery). HBO isn’t remaking the movies—they’re digging back into the books, season by season, and letting the characters breathe this time.
The truth is that some fans may cling to the image of Snape they imagined while reading the books or prefer Rickman’s interpretation of the character, and that is okay. We too love Alan Rickman for creating such a brilliant interpretation of Severus Snape and he will be greatly remembered for the work he did during his lifetime.
Other fans, however, are excited to see what Paapa Essiedu does with the real screen time and layered scripts a series like this should have. A Snape with an even sharper delivery and richer nuance? We’re here for it. Bring on the simmering stares and softly whispered, “Obviously,” a new Snape is in town.