'Harry Potter' Star Reveals He "Didn't Give a Sh*t" About the Films - Inside the Magic

Will there ever be a quiet day for the Harry Potter franchise? If it isn’t author JK Rowling stirring the cauldron on X/Twitter (like she always does), it’s the likes of Miriam Margoyles “sprouting” out nonsense about adults being too old to like the franchise. Now, another actor with an equally small role in the films has thrown some shade at the Wizarding World.

Scottish actor Peter Mullan played Death Eater Corban Yaxley in the two Deathly Hallows sequels; a role so small he may as well have been wearing an Invisibility Cloak. But during a recent masterclass session at Series Mania in France (via Deadline), Mullan revealed how he feels about having appeared in the last two entries in the series.

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“I did it so my kids could be on set,” he said bluntly, explaining why he took on the role of Corban Yaxley in the last two films in the first place. “I didn’t give a sh*t about Harry Potter. They just give you the wand. This piece of sh*t. I was holding it as if I was in the gang and holding a knife.” The actor also criticized other beloved franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, having appeared in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), saying, “It’s not Chekhov or Shakespeare,” while referring to the fans as “a weird bunch.”

While Mullan’s comments are pretty harsh, they certainly don’t echo the consensus of other actors from the films. Despite many stars taking, ahem, “umbrage” with controversial author JK Rowling over the years due to her divisive comments regarding gender identity, complaints about working on the films have been few and far between.

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While the upcoming Harry Potter reboot will cast new actors into every role, there have been a number of stars from the film series who have expressed an interest in returning to play different characters, such as Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy). But we think it’s safe to cross Peter Mullan off that list.

The new television series will consist of seven seasons, each based on one of the books by JK Rowling, and is expected to arrive on Max sometime in 2025 or 2026.

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While the HBO reboot continues to dominate the Daily Prophet news, The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) with “Return to Hogwarts.” And, along with the rumored Hogwarts Legacy 2, there’s a video game titled Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (TBA) in development. Meanwhile, a new Wizarding World-themed land is set to open at Universal Studios’ Epic Universe in Orlando.

What do you think about Peter Mullan’s comments about Harry Potter? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!