An audition tape from the actress set to play Hermione Granger in the upcoming Harry Potter series has fans drawing a major comparison.
HBO’s lead cast for its new Harry Potter series was revealed earlier this week, with Dominic McLaughlin as the Boy Wizard, Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
Creator JK Rowling has called them ‘wonderful’ as the controversial author says she ‘couldn’t be happier’ with the casting.
With the child stars set for whopping pay cheques for the highly-anticipated TV series, resurfaced footage appears to show Stanton auditioning for a role.
The 11-year-old already has an impressive credit to her name having starred in the lead role of Matilda in Matilda the Musical on London’s West End from 2023 to 2024. And it’s fair to say there’s similarities between the magical bookworm and Hermione.
That seems to be something Stanton embodies perfectly as fans have been left amazed by the tape circulating online.
It doesn’t seem clear if this is actually her audition for the Harry Potter series but that seems irrelevant as people reckon she is absolutely Hermione.
“Are we sure she wasn’t lip syncing Emma Watson’s audio? That was uncanny,” one wrote on TikTok.
As another echoed: “Yeah that’s Hermione Granger 100 percent. The facial expressions, the attitude, the tone. Nailed it.”
One user says the tape should put any doubts ‘to rest’.
“That’s Hermione Granger. I know it’s only 22 seconds but that’s Hermione Granger,” they added.
A second said it reminds them of ‘Emma Watson and Jenna Ortega mixed into one’ as others say she is ‘excellent’.
“That was perfect, almost exactly how I imagine book Hermione and there’s clearly so much inspiration taken from Emma,” a third quipped.
While a fourth said: “She’s literally PERFECT for this role! I wasn’t so excited they were remaking HP but I’m kinda looking forward to it now.”
Plenty are amazed just how much she sounds just like Watson as she’s absolutely ‘nailed the vibe’.
Revealing the casting of Hermione, Harry and Ron earlier this week, show runner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod said: “After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
“The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen.
“We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
Other confirmed cast members in the series include the likes of Nick Frost, John Lithgow and Paul Whitehouse.