Paapa Essiedu has faced cruel threats ahead of appearing in HBO’s new Harry Potter series
Paapa Essiedu has been dominating headlines following his casting in HBO Max’s forthcoming Harry Potter series, which is anticipated to premiere on the platform in December this year.
The Shakespearean performer, 35, has previously featured in numerous prominent films, television programmes and theatrical productions. This evening, he appears on The One Show to discuss the poignant new BBC drama Babies with his co-star Siobhán Cullen.
He also created history in 2016 as the first Black performer to portray Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, securing the Ian Charleson award.
Furthermore, Paapa has worked alongside BAFTA Award winner Michaela Coel and performed opposite legendary actress Saoirse Ronan.
The London-born performer will already appear familiar owing to his remarkable acting portfolio, but where might you have encountered him previously?
Who is Paapa Essiedu playing in HBO’s new Harry Potter series?
Paapa will portray Severus Snape in the new Harry Potter series for HBO, continuing the legacy of the late Alan Rickman, who embodied the first on-screen version of the character between 2001 and 2011.
Disturbingly, the performer has encountered racist abuse and death threats following the casting revelation, telling USA Today: “If I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’”
Despite enduring backlash before his character has even materialised on screen, Paapa stated the experience had only reinforced his dedication to the part, declaring: “The abuse fuels me.”
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Where have you seen Paapa Essiedu before?
Paapa secured numerous prominent theatrical roles after joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012, notably portraying the lead in Hamlet and Edmund in King Lear.
The performer achieved his breakout television role in 2020, appearing as Kwame in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You, reports the Mirror.
He has additionally featured in well-known programmes including Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project, Black Mirror and Channel 5’s Anne Boleyn.
Paapa made his cinema acting debut as a police officer in Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 film, Murder on the Orient Express.
Since then, he has featured in highly praised films such as 2024’s The Outrun, performing alongside Saoirse Ronan, and the 2022 horror production Men.
Paapa Essiedu’s life off-screen including famous wife
Paapa was raised in Walthamstow, London, and studied at the esteemed Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he encountered and collaborated with Michaela Coel.
The performer heartbreakingly lost both parents during his youth, discussing his father’s passing when he was 14 and his mother’s death when he was 20 in a conversation with The Guardian.
When questioned about what he regarded as his greatest accomplishment, he recalled: “After losing my mum still managing to finish drama school, because that was really difficult. I lost her in the first year.”
Away from the cameras, Paapa is also wed to actress and comic Rosa Robson, 34, who was part of the Cambridge Footlights. ITV audiences may recognise Rosa from her portrayal of Ashley in the ITV2 comedy series Buffering, and she has additionally featured in programmes including Inside No. 9 and Disney Plus’ Extraordinary.
Paapa also revealed a brush with death he experienced in 2016, when his agent telephoned to inform him he’d landed the role of Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He told the aforementioned publication: “While I was on the phone, I looked to my left and turned to the right, and a bus whizzed by and the wing mirror was so close to me that it knocked my hat off.”
Catch Paapa Essiedu on The One Show tonight at 7pm and in Babies at 9pm on BBC One.
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