Is Cillian Murphy playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter HBO series? Actor reveals truth

Cillian Murphy was the guest on the episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast where he discussed the rumours around him joining the Harry Potter universe.

Several rumours had been swirling that Cillian Murphy would step into the role of the dark wizard Voldemort in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series. However, the actor has now broken his silence to put those speculations to rest.

The Harry Potter TV series is set to debut on HBO and HBO Max in 2027,

Cillian Murphy speaks up

Cillian was the guest on the episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Thursday, where one of the topics he and host Josh Horowitz discussed was the rumours around him joining the Harry Potter universe.

Cillian revealed that his kids have shown him online chatter from fans who would like to see him play the Harry Potter villain. He clarified that there's no truth to the rumours.

When asked if there was anything to those rumours, Cillian replied, “No, my kids show me it occasionally, but no, I don’t know anything about that. I mean, also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So, good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes.”

Ralph Fiennes played the role in five of the eight Harry Potter movies. The actor also joked that he’s “very attached” to his nose, referring to Voldemort’s nose which is depicted as flat with narrow slits for nostrils.

The Harry Potter films kicked off in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, based on J.K. Rowling’s novels. The franchise went on with eight films total, with the story wrap up in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

In December, the original Voldemort actor appeared on Watch What Happens Live, and shared that Cillian would be the best option for the role. “Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian. Yeah,” Ralph said at that time.

More about the TV series

The Harry Potter reboot is based on J.K. Rowling’s books of the same name. In the reboot series, the main cast includes Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. Francesca Gardiner is the creator of the series, as well as its writer and showrunner. The series, which is directed by Mark Mylod, is expected to make its premiere in 2027.