In May, Essiedu and over 400 others in the film industry, including Fantastic Beasts' Eddie Redmayne, signed an open letter condemning the U.K. Supreme Court for ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex and that transgender women are not included within that legal definition.

Original “ Harry Potter ” star Jason Isaacs is standing by franchise addition Paapa Essiedu. Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the film franchise, told Collider that Essiedu is enduring “racist” backlash after being announced as Severus Snape for the HBO reboot series. Late actor Alan Rickman starred as Snape in the films.

"Harry Potter" alum Jason Isaacs weighed in on the online controversy surrounding Paapa Essiedu's casting in the upcoming HBO series adaptation.