J.K. Rowling Defends 'Harry Potter' Play Casting Black Hermione
Harry Potter fans are up in arms about the casting of a black actress to play Hermione Granger in the new play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. But author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to defend the casting choice, and quiet the naysayers.
The stage play, which centers on Harry and his son, Albus Severus, debuts in London’s West End in 2016, and it features a cast that includes Jamie Parker as Harry, Paul Thornley as Ron, and Noma Dumezweni as Hermione. Yet it's the casting of Olivier Award-winning South African actress Dumezweni that's caused the most controversy, since some fans feel that having a black actress play Hermione compromises the character somehow. Enter J.K. Rowling, who defended the casting with a fact that should have been plain to any book reader...
Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione ???? https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015Rowling also retweeted this fanart of Dumezweni as Hermione:
Some of my favourite Hermione fanarts next to our new Hermione! pic.twitter.com/80bIkcLBMJ
— alice in wonderland (@alwaysdragxns) December 20, 2015In addition to defending the casting on Twitter, Rowling expressed her joy about the play to the Pottermore website: “I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma, and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.”
So there ya have it, straight from the author's mouth. Hopefully, this calms some of the people freaking out about this.
But what do you think of the casting of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger? Sound off in the comments!
And for more on Harry Potters, watch the world premiere trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them!