Weekly Round-Up: Rupert Grint & Georgia Groome Announce Pregnancy, Daniel Radcliffe Narrates ‘Modern Love’ & More!

Apr 12, 2020

Posted by: Kim McChesney

Actor Interviews, Audio, Broadbent, Charity, Fantastic Beasts Round-Up, Film Images, Films, Fry, Gleeson, Harry Potter Round-Up, HP Cast, Humor, Interviews, Isaacs, Movies, News, Noma Dumezweni, Radcliffe, Round-Up, Shaw, Staunton, Television Programmes, Tennant, Thompson, Trailers, Videos, Walters

Ahead of the globe’s first locked down Easter Sunday, magic was brewing in Wizarding World as always. Leaky revealed the gorgeous 20th Anniversary Thai editions of the Harry Potter books and covered a Digital Hogwarts Escape Room from the Peters Township Public Library. We also reported on a recent controversial video of Ezra Miller, Universal’s extended coronavirus closure, a live reading of the Puffs sequel and shared news that J.K. Rowling herself and others from the Wizarding World have experienced coronavirus symptoms.

This week in our Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Actors Round-Up Daniel Radcliffe narrates the latest New York Times “Modern Love” episode  a new interview with Fiona Shaw ahead of Killing Eve’s season 3 premiere, Jason Isaacs shares a look at his quarantine routine for World Health Day, the first trailer for How to Build a Girl starring Emma Thompson, David Tennant talks his newest TV drama Deadwater Fell, and more!

Rupert Grint and Girlfriend Georgia Groome Announce Pregnancy

Harry Potter‘s Rupert Grint and girlfriend Georgia Groome have confirmed that they are expecting their first child!

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The couple have asked for privacy during this time according to The Mirror in a statement from a representative:

“Rupert Grint and Georgia Groome are excited to announce they are expecting a baby and would please ask for privacy at this time.”

Join us in congratulating Rupert and Georgia on their news!

 Daniel Radcliffe Reads an Essay for Modern Love Podcast

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Harry Potter fans have been lucky enough to get a wealth of Daniel Radcliffe on their screens this year with the release of two films, Guns Akimbo and Escape from Pretoria, as well as the weekly TBS comedy Dark Ages. If you’re still in mourning after the wrap on season 2 last week and craving some new Radcliffe content, you’ve come to the right place. The New York Times Modern Love podcast is a program spotlighting celebrities reading various personal essays.The latest episode features Daniel Radcliffe reading the essay, “Somewhere Inside, A Path to Empathy” a story surrounding author David Finch’s marriage challenges amid his Asperger’s diagnosis. A magical treat awaits those who listen until the end of the reading including the reveal that the former Boy Wizard actually recorded the podcast in a closet!

Listen to Daniel’s full narration and comment on why he related to the piece at Modern Love Podcast.

Fiona Shaw on Season 3 Changes for her Killing Eve Character

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The acclaimed BBC series Killing Eve starring Fiona Shaw, Harry Potter’s Aunt Petunia Dursley, returns tonight for its third season. With most of the globe glued to their screens right now, the series decided to release its first episode two weeks and early and we couldn’t be happier. Ahead of the premiere, Shaw gave EW a few clues as to what fans can expect from the third installment of the award-winning spy drama. First our favorite Harry Potter Muggle gives comparisons between Seasons 2 and 3,

“Suzanne Heathcote’s playwriting skills mean that it’s quite structured,” Shaw tells EW of season 3. “It doesn’t shy away from not being funny. And I think that’s very good. Season 2 was very funny, but season 3 is very structured, so you’re going to get a lot of stuff that is very real. And that’s very dangerous in a way, because we’ve begun to get quite unreal. Now we’re back to quite real. There’s quite a lot of challenges with the characters, but it’s very fulfilling for the audience to watch.”

She also gives some insight to what we might learn from her character, MI 6 Russian Desk Head Carolyn Martens, this time around,

“She’s very much more present and she’s pushed much further than she’s ever been. And you get to know her personally much, much more. That’s possibly true of some of the other characters — but particularly Carolyn. I was surprised at how the domestic world reveals so much more about Carolyn. And in a way it was a huge challenge because of course, it’s much easier to play behind the hedge of work. You’re going to meet her right up front and personal in this.”

The latest trailer reveals that Carolyn has a daughter in addition to her son Kenny that works with her. Shaw says this about the surprises that continue to be divulged about her character,

“That’s the marvelous thing about Carolyn — you never quite know where the story ends. You never know who she was actually married to and who was the father of those children, whether it’s the same father. I mean, the amount of  question marks around Carolyn — I’m amazed the audience put up with what she manages to do.”

Are you as excited as we are about the return of Killing Eve? Check out her full interview with EW and don’t miss the premiere Sunday, April 12 at 9p ET on AMC and BBC America.

Inside Jason Isaacs Locked Down for World Health Day

One of our Wizarding World favs Jason Isaacs is at it again supporting a charitable cause. Just recently Leaky talked exclusively with the actor who played Lucius Malfoy on his participation in the Tales of Beedle the Bard Audiobook for Lumos. On World Health Day, the actor who played one of the most villainous baddies in the Harry Potter series Lucius Malfoy, was out doing good in real life again bringing attention to the health heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. As he put it, Isaacs “pulled back the lamé curtain on my life in lockdown” which actually reveals he snuggles at night with one of his Potter nemeses!

Take a look at the video below in support of the #HopefromHome campaign on their website described as

“a first-of-its-kind multi-platform digital fundraising event taking place on World Health Day to help fight the impacts of COVID-19. The digital fundraiser will bring together entertainers, influencers, gamers, streamers and the public across a range of platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook.”

Go to https://tiltify.com/united-way/hopefromhome to donate. 

Wizarding World Alum Support NHS During Covid Crisis

An entire gaggle of former Wizards appeared this week in support of the professionals of London’s healthcare system the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic. Take a look at the video below and see if you can spot some familiar Wizarding World faces as well as hear one magical Harry Potter voice:


A First Look at Emma Thompson in How to Build a Girl

We haven’t seen too many trailers drop during quarantine since there’s no word yet when theaters will reopen but this week we got a first look at Emma Thompson, Harry Potter’s Professor Trelawney in the upcoming film How to Build a Girl. The comedy based on the novel by the same name is about a working-class teenager, played by award winner Beanie Feldstein, who tries to reinvent herself as a London music critic. The former Divination Professor plays a character named Amanda who appears from the end of the trailer to be an editor of a music publication. According to EW How to Build a Girl is currently scheduled for a May 8 theatrical and digital release.

David Tennant Talks Deadwater Fell

David Tennant is back on TV in his latest project Deadwater Fell. After premiering in the U.K. earlier this year, the 4-part crime drama starring Harry Potter’s Barty Crouch, Jr dropped for U.S. audiences this week on streaming service Acorn TV. The series takes place in a small Scottish community, where Tennant plays local doctor Tom Kendrick who is suspected of killing his wife and children.

Ahead of the U.S. premiere Tennant gave EW a few hints about the series without gving too much away,

“It’s sort of impossible to talk about because you don’t want to undermine [the story],” the actor tells EW. “Where you are the end of episode 1 is such a very different place to where you are the end of episode 2, and then again at the end of episode 3. It’s hard to unpack by talking about it because I think you risk robbing it of some of his power.”

He also shared some insight on the drama’s structure and how it affects the actors and the viewer,

“You’re having to navigate, as an actor, the gap between what you know to be true and in that moment what the audience might understand to be true,” says Tennant. “You’ll see some stuff in episode 1 that you’ll see again in episode 4, but perhaps from a certain perspective. Or you’ll see the front of [a] scene that isn’t shared with you in episode 1, which suddenly makes more sense in episode 4 when you have a bit more information.” 

Take a look at the trailer for Deadwater Fell below and the full interview with David Tennant on EW. The series can be streamed now on AcornTV.

Domhnall Gleeson on his New Small Screen Series Run

Bill Weasley fans can soon see the actor who played him in the upcoming TV comedy Run. Domhnall Gleeson, son of Brendan Gleeson, Potter’s Mad-Eye Moody stars in the new HBO series from Killing Eve and Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge about a woman whose life becomes chaos when she gets a text from an old boyfriend who asks her to fulfill the pact they made 17 years earlier and run away with him.

Ahead of this week’s premiere Gleeson talked to The Irish Sun about the series,

He told them this about taking parts with accents,

 “I quite liked it but generally I prefer to do accents, as perverse as that sounds.[…]An accent is a nice way into a character, I always think. An accent doesn’t change anybody, but it does change the perception of them and the way the world treats them. I really enjoy the process of trying on accents for size.”.

Gleeson is known best for his big screen roles in Harry Potter and Star Wars but said this about transitioning to TV,

“I’d just done a project that was very heavy and had taken an emotional toll.[…]I was exceptionally proud of it but felt like doing something a little more light-hearted. I mentioned that to my agent who said ‘actually, we’ve just gotten this script for TV[…].I hadn’t really thought about doing TV because I love movies, love the way they work and love the story being over in 90 minutes — I’m aware I’m in the minority on that![…]But I said ‘OK, I’ll read the script anyway’. It was Run, and it was just incredible.”

See the trailer below for Run which premieres today at 10:30p ET on HBO in the U.S and April 15 on Sky Comedy with Now TV in the U.K.

 

Brendan Gleeson on Coronavirus and Fundraising for St Francis Hospice

Gleeson recently interviewed with  Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show, and spoke about choosing to interview in person in order to fundraise for St Francis Hospice.

He also spoke about the beginning of lockdown, and returning home in time:

“It (coronavirus) was growing and I remember thinking at that point, ‘I wonder should we get a few face masks to bring home’ and there were no face masks anywhere to bring home.

“But I was really glad to get on the plane and just get on because it began to be clear that things were going to start locking down really quickly so it’s great to get home.”

“I was looking forward to coming home anyway so I always like to be home, to be honest with you.”

Watch the interview, and a performance by Gleeson, below:

Oliver Phelps Shares Home Cinema

Any golfer’s dream during quarantine lies within Oliver Phelps’s house! Oliver shared his home cinema with a golf simulator in a recent YouTube video – it’s worth a look. We’re loving his dedication to golf, and hope this is a decent enough replacement during lockdown!

That’s all the actors’ news for this week Potterheads! Check out the Wizarding World news from the stage in our latest Theater Round-Up. Stay safe out there and Happy Passover and Easter to those who celebrate.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.