How old is the cast?
How old is the cast of HBO’s Harry Potter? This table compares each actor’s age when filming began, on 14 July 2025, and at the premiere, on 25 December 2026, with the age of their character in Philosopher’s Stone, which takes place in 1991–92.
The three leads were found through an open casting call for children who would be between 9 and 11 in April 2025. When they were announced, on 27 May 2025, Dominic McLaughlin and Arabella Stanton were 11, the age of Harry and Hermione at the start of the book. By the time the first season is shown they are a year or so older than their characters, and with one season per book the gap will matter less than in the films, where the actors were often several years older than their characters by the end.
Ages are worked out from the date of birth where it has been published, and otherwise from the age reported in the press on a given date, which is why some appear as “11 or 12”. The children’s exact dates of birth are not public, and we do not try to find them. The characters’ ages come from the dates of birth J.K. Rowling has given; “Not stated” means the books do not say. Each actor has a page with their other roles and interviews: click on their name.
The adults
John Lithgow is the oldest of the main cast: he was 79 when filming began and will be 81 at the premiere. Dumbledore, born in 1881 according to J.K. Rowling, is about 110 in the first book. Paapa Essiedu, who plays Snape, is close to his character’s age: Snape is 31 in Philosopher’s Stone. In the films, Alan Rickman was 55 when the first film was released.
See also the full cast and the series cast against the films.
