'Harry Potter' star Paapa Essiedu's dream role turns to terror as he receives death threats

Paapa Essiedu has opened up about facing extreme racial abuse since he was cast as Professor Severus Snape in the new TV series Harry Potter.

For those unaware, the 35-year-old English actor is currently in Watford to shoot the forthcoming HBO series after being cast in the production in April 2025.

Since his inclusion in the Harry Potter series was announced, critics raised several questions because Snape was white in the films.

While conversing with The Times, Essiedu said he has been facing extreme racial injustice so much so that he is being told to “quit or I’ll murder you.”

He shared, “The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’”

The I May Destroy You star urged that “nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job” because many “put their lives on the line in their work.”

He admitted, “I'm playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I'd be lying if I said it doesn't affect me emotionally. But the abuse fuels me.”

“And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That's motivation to not be intimidated,” Essiedu claimed.

It is noteworthy to mention that Paapa Essiedu will replace the late Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape in the forthcoming Harry Potter television series scheduled to be released in 2027 on Max.