Harry Potter fans want to know more about Paapa Essiedu as he prepares to take on an iconic role in the franchise.
Paapa Essiedu has been making headlines after being cast in HBO’s new Harry Potter series, which is expected to air on the platform in December of this year.
The Shakespearean actor, 35, has already appeared in several high-profile films, TV series and plays. Tonight, he is appearing on The One Show to promote his moving new BBC drama, Babies, alongside co-star Siobhán Cullen.
He also made history in 2016 as the first Black actor to play Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, winning the Ian Charleson award.
Moreover, Paapa has also collaborated with BAFTA Award winner Michaela Coel and starred opposite legendary actress Saoirse Ronan.
The London-born star will already look familiar thanks to his impressive acting resume, but where have you seen him before?
Who is Paapa Essiedu playing in HBO’s new Harry Potter series?
Paapa will play Severus Snape in the new Harry Potter series for HBO, carrying on the legacy of the late Alan Rickman, who played the first on-screen iteration of the character between 2001 and 2011.
Shockingly, the actor has received racist abuse and death threats following the casting announcement, 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 having to endure backlash before his character has even appeared on screen, Paapa said the experience had only strengthened his commitment to the role, stating: “The abuse fuels me.”
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Where have you seen Paapa Essiedu before?
Paapa enjoyed several high-profile stage roles when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012, including the titular Hamlet and Edmund in King Lear.
The actor got his breakthrough screen role in 2020, when he starred as Kwame in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You.
He has also starred in popular series like Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project, Black Mirror and Channel 5’s Anne Boleyn.
Paapa made his feature film acting debut as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 movie, Murder on the Orient Express.
He has since appeared in critically acclaimed films like 2024’s The Outrun, where he acted alongside Saoirse Ronan, and the 2022 horror film Men.
Paapa Essiedu’s life off-screen including famous wife
Paapa grew up in Walthamstow, London, and attended the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met and worked with Michaela Coel.
The actor tragically lost both his parents at a young age, opening up about his father’s death when he was 14 and his mother’s death when he was 20 in an interview with The Guardian.
Asked about what he considered to be his greatest achievement, he reflected: “After losing my mum still managing to finish drama school, because that was really difficult. I lost her in the first year.”
Off-screen, Paapa is also married to actress and comedian Rosa Robson, 34, who was a member of the Cambridge Footlights.
ITV viewers may recognise Rosa for her role as Ashley in the ITV2 sitcom Buffering, and she has also appeared in shows like Inside No. 9 and Disney Plus’ Extraordinary.
Paapa also opened up about a near-death experience he had back in 2016, when his agent had called him to tell him he’d secured the part 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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