Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy addresses rumors about him playing Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter reboot (& it doesn't look good)

On 12 September 2025, Cillian Murphy publicly denied claims that he would play Lord Voldemort in HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series. The story began as online speculation and moved quickly through fan forums and entertainment pages. Murphy addressed the chatter directly on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying he does not know of any plan to cast him as the Dark Lord. He said, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

“No. No. Genuinely — I mean, my kids show me it occasionally, but I don’t know anything about that.”

Murphy’s comments come as the TV project is in early production and public attention is high.

The show will adapt Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in its first season, and creators have said the series will take time to reach story points where Voldemort appears fully in human form. That timeline helps explain why talk about who will play Voldemort has grown louder even before official casting for that specific role is announced.

Cillian Murphy denies the rumors and makes light of the speculation

On the podcast, Murphy did more than say he didn’t know about the casting reports. He also praised Ralph Fiennes’s earlier work as Voldemort, calling it difficult to match. According to the Entertainment Weekly reports,

“It’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So good luck to whoever’s gonna fill those shoes,” Murphy said.

When the host joked about the character’s altered appearance, Murphy replied,

“I’m very attached to it!”

Referring to his nose. Those lines were delivered casually, and Murphy presented the subject as harmless gossip rather than a confirmed casting issue.

Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort in the film series, publicly stated last year that he thinks Murphy would be a good fit. However, Fiennes’ comment was a personal endorsement made on talk shows and in interviews, not an official casting decision.

Harry Potter has already cast several key roles, which pushes Voldemort's casting to later seasons

HBO and Harry Potter’s producers have announced many major cast members: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, among others. The production is focusing on the first book for season one, so characters who appear later in the story will likely be cast when their part of the story is being filmed.

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Cillian Murphy has denied being cast; the role of Voldemort remains unannounced; and Harry Potter’s season-by-season plan means the full-form Voldemort may not feature until later. Fans who prefer specifics should watch for official casting notices from HBO, which will announce the actor's name when the Harry Potter producers are ready to reveal it.

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