SDCC 2019 Day Two: Exclusive Interview With ‘Cursed Child’s’ Nicholas Podany and Jon Steiger, ‘Wizard’s Unite’ and ‘The Dark Crystal’ News!

Jul 20, 2019

Posted by: Dawn Johnson

Actor Interviews, BigNews, Bonham Carter, Conventions, Events, Exclusives, Fan Events, Fandom, Fans, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, HP Cast, Interviews, Isaacs, News, Television Programmes

Day Two of San Diego Comic-Con was a brilliant flurry of fandom fun, and Leaky reporters Lauren Osborne and Sydney Dean were on-site to visit all the panels and booths of interest to the Potterdom.

With a full schedule planned and huge crowds, it’s possible they commandeered a time turner from the Ministry in order to bring Leaky followers their coverage. But, as they don’t let just anyone have a magical object of that magnitude, you’ll forgive them for keeping it under wraps.

Undercover as Muggles, and media passes in hand, they took the shuttle to the San Diego Convention Center along with other excited fans!

As promised Thursday, Jon Steiger, San Francisco’s Scorpius Malfoy, and Nicholas Podany, Broadway’s Albus Potter, were already there answering challenges–and wreaking some hilarious havoc! (Seriously, Weasley twins, anyone?)

And with no Marauder’s Map to guide them, Lauren and Sydney managed to track the mischievous and energetic duo down for an interview!

For starters, we wanted to know what Harry Potter character they think they are most like. (Here’s a hint: They went to the Yule Ball together!)

We also asked Steiger to speak about a positive lesson that Draco imparts to his son (don’t be so surprised), as well as whether he thinks about Scorpius’ relationship with his mother, Astoria.

And though both Steiger and Podany play Slytherins in Cursed Child, they rather ironically–or not so ironically–call another house home in real life. (You’ll have to watch to find out which!) Podany also spoke about the major theme of Cursed Child, knowing that you matter to someone and learning to express that care for someone else, and why his character’s struggle to understand the importance of it makes him love Albus so much.

One of the people Albus learns to appreciate and rely on is, of course, Scorpius. We wanted to know why Steiger and Podany think the two boys become such close friends. (It’s well established that opposites often balance each other out remarkably well, after all!)

Finally, we couldn’t leave the interview without asking Steiger about his own “Cinderella story,” going from an usher at the Lyric Theater to a cast member in his own right.

Following that magical conversation with our favorite stage Slytherins, we were caught off guard by the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite panel, moderated by Felicia Day, where cynicism toward the house remains high — despite the majority of panelists being Slytherin! (Not that that’s unusual…!)

Representatives went on to talk about the AR game’s concept and how it encourages fans to explore and engage with their communities.

They then surprised attendees with an announcement–in addition to all the magical creatures and characters currently featured, the game will soon debut a new fantastic beast. Premiering at the upcoming Wizards Unite Fan Festival over the weekend of Aug. 31 to Sept. 1, the level of play is about to heat up, and drawings to register for the exciting event are now live in-app!

Time Turner or no, we did not make it into the Dark Crystal panel, but we did hear that voice talent Taron Edgerton and Mark Hamill were there!

According to EW, Hamill stole the stage, slipping in and out of stories and impressions from his iconic repertoire of voiceover work. He called himself a “Muppet fanatic” and said the script was “just great writing.”

Edgerton chimed in, describing his first experience with original, which he viewed at the age of six or seven, saying: “My father showed me it, and I just thought it was enchanting and completely unlike anything else. I still feel that way about it.”

The crowd was then surprised with a screening of the full first episode of Age of Resistance, after which Hamill was presented with the 2019 Comic-Con Icon Award, given to “an individual or group who’s been instrumental in creating greater awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms.”

The 10-episode television series premieres Aug. 30 and features the voices of Harry Potter alums Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Toby Jones (Dobby). If you used up your stash of Felix Felicis to get into the panel, let us know your favorite part in the comments. We would love to hear some firsthand accounts from lucky Leaky followers!

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Our reporters Lauren and Sydney finished out the day chatting with some fabulous wizarding world cosplayers and meeting up with the Wizards Unite tour.

On Day Three, look for them to spend more time on the convention floor, apparating from booth to booth. We’ll also bring you news from the “Collecting Harry Potter” and “The Psychology of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” panels, so revisit all Leaky’s social media platforms through the day for the latest updates!





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