Actor Receives Threats Over Casting in Harry Potter Series Adaptation

British actor Paapa Essiedu has reported receiving racist harassment and death threats online following his casting as Severus Snape in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series adaptation. The actor disclosed these experiences in an interview with the Sunday Times. The controversy stems from the character being portrayed as white in J.K. Rowling's original books. Essiedu will play the strict professor in the new television adaptation of the popular fantasy franchise.