Shaun of the Dead actor Nick Frost has disabled comments on a post celebrating his casting in HBO’s Harry Potter series, after fans reacted with upset over his involvement.
HBO announced yesterday (14 April) that the 53-year-old British actor, known for Hot Fozz and The World’s End, will star as half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in its TV adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels.
The role was originally played by the late Robbie Coltrane, who died in 2022.
He’ll be joined by Conclave star John Lithgow as Hogwarts’ gay headmaster Albus Dumbledore, I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and KAOS star Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall.
Stage actor Luke Thallon will play Professor Quirrell, and The Fast Show’s Paul Whitehouse will play school caretaker Argus Filch.
On Instagram, Frost celebrated his casting news with his near one million followers, posting a selfie of himself holding a copy of Rowling’s debut Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
“You’re a wizard, Harry!!! Thank you for trusting me with such a loyal, gentle and courageous half-giant like Rubeus Hagrid,” he wrote.
“Robbie, I promise I won’t let you down.”
While mega fans of Rowling’s wizarding world have praised HBO’s casting team for lining up Frost as Hagrid, others have taken aim at Frost and his fellow future Harry Potter stars over their involvement in a series being executively produced by Rowling.
JK Rowling has repeatedly made her ‘gender-critical’ views on the transgender community clear, while she was recently criticised by asexual campaigners for branding International Asexuality Day “fake oppression” day.
Comments have now been disabled on his celebration post after fans pointed out that he would be working on a Rowling project.
Still, those disappointed in the star’s decision to be involved in Rowling’s work have begun flooding the comment sections on his other posts, with one reading: “You always were an artist I highly admired. Please think again if you want to get involved with that woman, you might lose a lot of fans with that decision.”
JK Rowling’s views on transgender people are widely known. (Getty)
Another wrote: “The fact you’ve turned comments off on the previous post shows you know exactly why taking that role is a poor decision. You’ve lost the respect of millions, and I’m so disappointed in one of my favourite actors of all time.”
“Nick, I love, love, love your work, but am deeply saddened you’ve chosen to work with JK,” a third wrote.
Though Frost has signed on to star in Harry Potter, one of his next big projects is reportedly starring alongside trans comic Jordan Gray in her trans-focussed ITV supermarket sitcom, Transaction.
Away from Frost’s own social media pages, others have voiced their sadness at seeing him step into Rowling’s franchise.
“Nick Frost and Paul Whitehouse we all expected better from you,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
“The one good thing about this [casting] is the huge number of comments under Nick Frost’s other posts condemning this project and him associating with JK. It’s reassuring to see that there are still good people out there,” another added.
HBO has previously stated that Rowling has “a right to express her views” and said that her involvement in the upcoming series hasn’t impacted casting for the lead roles.
HBO’s Harry Potter series is expected to air in late 2026, with each of Rowling’s seven novels in the story being turned into its own season. It’s expected to air from start to end for roughly ten years.
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