The actors who played Snape, Sirius, Lupin, etc were all too old in the movies..

[TheHulksPurplePanties]

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Alan Rickman. But I recently started playing the new Harry Potter "Mystery at Hogwarts" game and I came to the realization (because I OBVIOUSLY don't have better things to think about) that Snape should only be 23/24 in this game. He should have been 31 at the start of the Potter series, but Rickman was in late 50's. I know life was difficult in the Potterverse but come-on, a 31 year old does not look 50.

I'm sure the reasoning was that they wanted bigger names in the movies to get more of a draw, but surely there were actors in their 30's who could have played the roles?

Maybe I'm harking back to my teenage goth years, but Lucius Malfoy and Snape in the films both totally did it for me....

When I grow up I want to be Molly Weasley although I'm already 47 and then I shall graduate onto being Prof McGonnagall.

If you want mis-casting look no further than Dumbledore in the next Fantastic Beasts. All kinds of wrong.

I've always suspected that when she first wrote the books, JK Rowling didn't to mean for Lily and James to be so young when they died. I mean - Lily and Petunia are of an age - (so apparently early 20s) - but Petunia is a homeowner of a four bedroom house in Surrey (!) and Vernon is the director of his drill making company... they are clearly not people fresh out of uni.

But then she introduced Sirius Black - and she wanted him to still be young and sexy in the current timeline, so she had to push everyone's ages waaay back to make that possible... thus resulting in Lily having a teenage pregnancy
The first film came out in what? 2001? So actors were probably cast around the time book 4 was released and years and years before book 5 came out. The casting directors couldn't have possibly known that she was going to retcon their ages that way. We don't get an actual definitive age for the Potters (and therefore all their friends) until book 7 - which came out in 2007. It was a bit late to change who his parents were in the film at that point.

Rowling has long said that Maths isn’t her strong point. I know I’d find it hard to keep track of people’s ages in a book series that long, particularly in such a detailed world as hers.

It could be a maths not strong point thing. But I assume Vernon is a fair bit older than Petunia, and she is older sister as well, I think? so they could have had Dudley at a fairly average age - say Petunia was 25, and Vernon 35? While Lily and James were 20/21.

GO AWAY WITH YOUR LOGICAL THINKING AND STOP SPOILING IT

I think the real problem was that his parents were written as being 20 when he was born. The ages of the actors all made much more sense than that did!

@CaptainCabinets

JK has said before in an interview that they main 3 actors were all too good looking for the three misfit characters she wrote, but she had to accept that's the reality of film making.

Witches and wizards seem to age weirdly anyway. Does it take them longer to age, as they have longer life spans? They seem to go through childhood and adolescence at a normal rate, at what point does their aging slow down so that they can make it to 150? Or do they just get to really old the same as us muggles, then stay there for another 60 years?

Or do they just get to really old the same as us muggles, then stay there for another 60 years?

I think this, but thanks to magic they dont suffer from muggle age related issues.

I see Faye Marsay as Tonks, never mind whoever actually plays her who I’m sure was very good (can’t remember, she wasn’t very well used in the films).

Rufus Sewell would have made a lovely Sirius.

Yes, they don’t get Muggle diseases like, say, measles or cancer. They do get colds (the hospital wing being besieged in winter and Madam Pomfrey having to make lots of Pepperup Potion is mentioned) but aside from that, they only get magical diseases like dragon pox.

Sirius was meant to be young and sexy so they cast...Gary Oldman?

Not seeing it.

I always assumed Harry’s parents had him young, I’m sure it’s implied from early on before it was confirmed in book 7.

Gary Oldman has about as much sex appeal as Donald Trump.

He's fucking hideous.

And he fucked up Sirius Black big time.

And yes they're all too old except the kids. But Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman are are ageless so it didn't matter.

And everything was too dark

Basically they fucked it all up and need to re-make everything, preferably as a sunday evening TV series.

They always cast older actors.

Look at Pride & Prejudice (BBC version), Lydia is supposed to be 15/16, but played by Julia Sawalha who was 27 at the time.

The one that shocked me was discovering that the character of Nancy in Oliver is supposed to be 17, yet was played by 35 year old Shani Wallis in the film Oliver!

It actually makes it more engaging that they are all slightly older. It's fine to write a bit of trivia in a book about the age of people but when it actually comes to a visual on-screen presentation having a bunch of late 20's early 30's people being senior professors at magic schools and holding other senior positions it looks a bit odd given that it is so different to our current society.

One minor detail which always bugs me when I watch the films is when you have the flashbacks to voldermort as a student at hogwarts in half blood prince. The actor’s accent is terribly posh whereas Tom riddle grew up in an orphanage in the middle of London. Not saying he should’ve been full on cockney but shouldn’t have sounded like he’d just transferred to hogwarts from eton either.

Also agree re Ginny.

Moaning Myrtle was played by Shirley Henderson, who was (I think) 37 at the time of Chamber of Secrets.

re-make everything, preferably as a sunday evening TV series
Please let this happen.

In The Game of Thrones books, (Song of Ice and Fire) it's not Earth and it has the very long, uneven seasons. I always assumed that their year was a lot longer than 365 Earth days, hence the seemingly young ages of the children.

How about Adam Driver as the new Snape, he is already good at flouncing about in black robes?

Looks pretty Snapey to me

Jude Law as Dumbledore is crap, mainly because Jude Law is a knob (see also: Johnny Depp)

I like to imagine Justin Fletcher as Remake!Lockhart.

If only they'd have cast Matthew Macfayden, preferably as something where he had to run around next to naked.

Sirius Black

Roadrunner - but Tom Riddle wanted to distance himself from his - yes, pure blood - but horrible father. He believed himself to be above everybody else, so would probably adopt a posh accent and look (overthinking maybe...).

I won't have a word said against Gary Oldman or Alan Rickman, they were perfect for me. I also liked Lupin. I may be showing my age, but youth just doesn't do it for me in this case...