‘They just don’t align in any way, shape or form’: Nick Frost opens up about J.K. Rowling’s views and his Harry Potter casting
The new HBO adaptation of Harry Potter has been causing quite a stir and for good reason: J.K. Rowling will benefit from the show and she has already said that the money she earns will go to her organization that seeks to harm trans rights.
It has made some casting that I would otherwise be excited about tainted. One such casting is Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. To me, that is perfect. But then I had to think about the situation and why any adult would put themselves in this series when they know that Rowling has used her platform to attack trans rights time and time again. It made me, originally, upset with Frost.
I’ve loved Frost and his career since I was 12 and found Shaun of the Dead. His work has made me happy for over 2 decades and I didn’t like the idea that he’d be hateful and harmful towards the trans community. So it pleased me to see a new interview he did with The Observer that explained his thoughts on Hagrid and Rowling.
Which lead to this: He thinks she’s entitled to her opinion, he just doesn’t agree with her on it. It is similar to new Severus Snape actor Paapa Essiedu signing an open letter for film and television to protect trans rights after a new bill in the United Kingdom was passed that Rowling’s support helped get through. It all led me to this thinking: Why not take the big paycheck and use a lot of it to counteract what Rowling is doing with her portion of the profit?
Nick Frost doesn’t want this to “blow over”
One of the fascinating parts of his interview with The Observer came with Frost talking about Rowling’s anti-trans take. At the start of the interview, he pointed out that he was constantly working and starring in things not because he loved the game but because he needed to. As he pointed out, “People think, because you made Shaun of the Dead, you’re a billionaire.”
That’s what led me to my new kind of hope for the adults joining the Harry Potter series. If you want to get that paycheck, I understand it. But I’d also love if every one of them, in turn, spoke out against Rowling and what she was doing and put some of the money towards helping the trans community. Frost went on to talk about how Rowling could have her opinion but that it didn’t “align” with his own.
“She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form,” he told the publication. He was then asked if he was “worried” that the pushback against Rowling would hurt the series. “I don’t know,” he said but then said something that made me have a lot of respect for Frost (more than I already did). “But maybe it shouldn’t blow over? We shouldn’t just hope it will go away, because it makes it easier. Maybe we should educate ourselves.”
(featured image: Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage)
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