Actor Paapa Essiedu made headlines a few months ago after he was revealed to be playing Severus Snape in the upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ franchise. However, it has been a smooth ride for the actor since then. In a recent interview, the actor explained how the public reacted to the news of his casting, mentioning that many days he would encounter serious death threats online.
Paapa Essiedu talks about receiving death threats after playing Snape in the ‘Harry Potter’ series
On March 21, while talking to The Times about her latest endeavors, the actress got candid about the kind of hate she’s been dishing out online. He admitted in the interview that the number of death threats and racist comments against him increased tenfold when he was cast as Severus Snape.
After the announcement it was noted that many people were not entirely happy with a Black actor playing the role of Severus Snape. In his interview, he mentioned: “A lot of people risk their lives in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”Talking more about the matter, he revealed that he has also received many death threats on many occasions. “It’s really important. The reality is that if I look on Instagram, I’ll see someone saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ So I’m pretty sure I’m not going to die… That could age badly! But, yeah, while I hope it’s okay, nobody should have to go through this for doing their job,” she said. On how to deal with hate, Essiedu says that even though it takes a lot of time, he doesn’t let it all get him down. He admitted that hatred becomes fuel for his fire, and he is often inspired to do better every day.
About Paapa Essiedu
The famous English actor has been active in the industry since 2012 and has worked in films, theater programs and web series. Some of his best known works in the theater are ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ and ‘Hamlet’. Her big break in the entertainment industry came 4 years after her debut when she landed one of the lead roles in the OTT hit show ‘I May Destroy You’.His other famous works include: ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, ‘A Number’, ‘The Effect’ and many others.
