What does being a child star look like in 2025? The new Harry Potter stars are about to find out
HBO has announced a new generation of Hogwarts students for its upcoming Harry Potter television series, casting Dominic McLaughlin as the bespectacled protagonist alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
The trio’s appointment has been eagerly anticipated by fans since the television series was announced in 2023.
Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin (centre) and Alastair Stout, who will portray Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in the HBO series Harry Potter.Credit: HBO
However, unlike when Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson – who starred in the 2001-to-2010 film adaptions – were starting out, the new child stars will have to navigate their roles in a world in thrall to social media.
HBO turned off Instagram comments on the casting announcement, but vitriolic and racist remarks have already spread on Reddit and TikTok.
So what do we know about the main trio and their prior film roles? And what does being a child star look like in 2025?
Who are the three leads?
Arabella Stanton is an 11-year-old British actress who will play the role of Hermione Granger, the brilliant and preciously talented young witch.
Stanton is best known for her role as Matilda Wormwood in Matilda the Musical in London’s West End in 2023 and 2024. She has also starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s play Starlight Express.
Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin will play the titular role of Harry Potter. The 11-year-old features in an upcoming comedy called Grow with Nick Frost and Golda Rosheuvel.
Alastair Scout completes the trio as Ron Weasley, in what looks to be his first television role, although his agent credits him with appearing in a potato advertisement.
What does it mean to be a child star in the internet age?
On August 21, 2000, Radcliffe, Watson and Grint were announced as the leads of the beloved Harry Potter film franchise.
Their bright-eyed, beaming faces appeared in major newspapers around the world, and fans rushed to catch a glimpse of the actors who would bring J. K. Rowling’s magical characters to life.
Instagram and TikTok did not exist and Mark Zuckerberg’s groundbreaking Facebook was still four years away.
Nearly 25 years later, a similar global stardom awaits McLaughlin, Stanton and Stout, but a monumental level of scrutiny amplified by social media also lies in waiting.
Jessica Balanzategui, an associate professor in media and cinema at RMIT, said social media had supercharged conversations around child stardom.
“Twenty-five years ago, child stars were more protected and their transition to child stardom was more contained and controlled, because there wasn’t a live moment-to-moment public conversation going on around them,” she said.
The new Potter trio have the difficult task of replacing the original cast – beloved among diehard fans – and must also navigate the murky territory of starring in a series that has recently been overshadowed by the author’s controversial comments.
Rowling has become a polarising figure for her comments about gender issues. She previously said she’d rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.
She is no longer on good terms with Radcliffe, Watson or Grint, saying she would not forgive the Harry Potter actors for criticising her views.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about controversy surrounding J. K. Rowling ... issues and side conversations that aren’t necessarily directly to do with the children involved but will impact their own transition to stardom, which is already a lot to navigate,” Balanzategui said.
She said it was important to remember child fame was challenging for the original trio in the early 2000s, but that the omnipresent nature of the internet added an extra layer of risk in 2025.
Watson, who was cast as Hermione at nine years old, spoke to British Vogue in 2019 and disclosed she needed therapy to help process her feelings around child fame. Radcliffe has also been candid about child stardom, telling journalists he would want his kids to avoid fame “at all costs”.
Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe attend the European premiere of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in London in 2004.Credit: Reuters
Balanzategui recommended any parent or guardian of an aspiring child actor try to limit their access to social media.
Stanton appeared to have a public, parent-managed Instagram account, while McLaughlin and Stout do not have a public social media presence yet.
“It’s hard to tell any 11-year-old to stay off social media, let alone an 11-year-old that’s just been propelled to super global stardom like this,” Balanzategui said.
“I think the team around them will have to do their best to support them with separation and some level of detachment from social media conversations and try to limit their engagement with it as much as possible.”
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.