Ralph Fiennes approves of ‘wonderful’ choice to play Voldemort in Harry Potter show

Fiennes played ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’ in five Harry Potter movies

Ralph Fiennes has given his seal of approval to Cillian Murphy, should the Oscar winner wish to play Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter television series.

Earlier this year it was announced that HBO had begun casting for roles for a reboot series, inspired by JK Rowling’s best-selling series of novels.

No official casting announcements have been made yet but there has been plenty of speculation around which major stars could play iconic roles, such as Albus Dumbledore.

Attention has now turned to who could play the main villain of the series, Lord Voldemort, which Fiennes famously played in five Harry Potter movies from 2005 until 2011.

During an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, Fiennes was asked about Cillian Murphy taking on the role. The 61-year-old enthusiastically replied: “Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favour of Cillian. Yeah.”

Murphy won the Oscar for Best Actor earlier this year for his portrayal of J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the American theoretical physicist.

Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, and Cillian Murphy (Warner Bros Pictures/Getty)

While casting calls are now open for the three young leads – Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – it seems if bosses behind the divisive forthcoming series could wave a wand, they would cast Mark Rylance as the Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore.

According to reports, the Oscar-winning star of stage and screen, who can currently be seen in BBC’s Wolf Hall: the Mirror and the Light, is sitting at the top of the casting wishlist.

Elsewhere, Matthew Lewis, who played fan favourite Neville Longbottom across all eight Harry Potter films, has given an update as to whether they can expect to see him in the forthcoming TV series.

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Speaking to People Magazine recently, Lewis said that he is “not in any rush” to return to the Wizarding World.

The idea of rejoining the franchise does not appeal to the 34-year-old who blamed his reticence on his “very short attention span”.

“The reason I got into this job in the first place was because I have a very short attention span,” Lewis explained during an event at the Harry Potter New York store.

“I am very, very poor at maintaining anything for any length of time. I’ve had many, many hobbies and passions over the years. Not a single one do I still do.”