HBO’s latest casting announcement for its upcoming Harry Potter series has stirred controversy, particularly among South Asian fans, after they cast Italian actor Alessia Leoni to portray Parvati Patil, a prominent side character from the Harry Potter world.
While the announcement was part of a broader reveal on Monday that included nine new cast members, fans quickly shifted their attention to Leoni’s role. Fans across platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) voiced frustration and disappointment, questioning the studio’s commitment to authentic cultural representation.
One Reddit user voiced a recurring concern, saying, “I’m so sick of Hollywood casting biracial, half white desi actors.” Another commented, “I’ll gladly delete this and eat my words if she is Desi, but with a name like Alessia Leoni I don’t have much hope.” Over on X, a user added, “This is frustrating. Why cast an Italian who just looks brown to play Parvati Patil? They easily could’ve cast an actual Indian actress. So much for ‘diversity’ @HBO. No hate to the kid, but still…”
Leoni’s casting leads to discussions about authentic representation in adaptations of globally beloved stories. In the original film series, Parvati and her twin sister Padma were portrayed by Shefali Chowdhury and Afshan Azad, both British actors of Bangladeshi descent, discovered during a local school casting search. While not Indian by nationality, their casting at the time was embraced by fans for at least aligning closely with the characters’ South Asian roots.
The criticism comes after an earlier backlash over the casting of Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. Originally played by Alan Rickman, Snape is widely regarded as a quintessentially white British character, and some fans reacted strongly to HBO’s decision to cast a Black actor in the role.
Monday’s casting rollout included several other key roles. Katherine Parkinson will play Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt takes on Draco Malfoy, and Johnny Flynn will appear as Lucius Malfoy. Leo Earley has been cast as Seamus Finnigan, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, while Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby will portray Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Bertie Carvel joins as Cornelius Fudge.
The series, which aims to adapt each of J.K. Rowling’s books across seven seasons, has emphasised its intention to stay true to the source material while also reimagining it for a modern, diverse audience. However, reactions to recent casting decisions suggest that HBO may face challenges balancing creative freedom with expectations of cultural and ethnic accuracy.