Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe opens up about speaking out against J.K. Rowling's transphobic comments. Today, Radcliffe's name remains synonymous with Harry Potter, as the English actor rose to international fame playing The Boy Who Lived in all eight film installments, starting with 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the age of 12. Radcliffe starred alongside Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, making up the Golden Trio who were the heart of the Harry Potter films that defined a generation.

J.K. Rowling is the author behind the best-selling Harry Potter novels on which the blockbuster franchise was based and the screenwriter behind the Fantastic Beasts prequel trilogy, which has largely failed to recapture the magic of the original series. In the past few years, Rowling has repeatedly tarnished the legacy of the Harry Potter franchise with her repeated transphobic comments. In 2020, Radcliffe spoke out against Rowling, penning an open letter for The Trevor Project in which he stated his unwavering support for transgender people.

Now, more than two years after he spoke out, Radcliffe is opening up about his comments in an interview with IndieWire. The Harry Potter star explained why he felt compelled to speak out, saying he was concerned about the LGBTQ+ Harry Potter fans who Rowling's remarks may have hurt. Radcliffe also says he wouldn't have been able to "look [himself] in the mirror" if he hadn't spoken out against Rowling. Read his full comments below:

The reason I was felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that. And so seeing them hurt on that day I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important. It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything. But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.
Will Daniel Radcliffe Ever Return To The Harry Potter Franchise


More than a decade after the Harry Potter film series ended with The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Radcliffe remains the face of the franchise and accepts the responsibility that comes with that, even if it means speaking out against its creator for her controversial comments. While Rowling's views have caused some to sour on the Harry Potty franchise, there is still widespread interest in seeing its original stars – Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson – return. The best chance of that happening would be a film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a stage play written by Rowling and set nineteen years after the events of The Deathly Hallows.

The way things stand right, Radcliffe is unlikely to return to the Harry Potter franchise in the near future. Earlier this year, Radcliffe shot down a Cursed Child movie adaptation, saying it's not something he's interested in right now, but would possibly be open to years down the road. For now, all Potterheads can do is hope Radcliffe changes his mind soon, but in the meantime, he can be seen in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premiering November 4 on The Roku Channel.