“I Didn’t Go for ‘Harry Potter’ in the Beginning”: Alfred Enoch Talks “Potter” and Apple TV+ Role

Alfred Enoch, who played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter franchise, recently sat down for a chat with the Guardian via video link.

Enoch spoke of how he first landed the role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, at age 10: He was scouted during a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

His character, Dean Thomas, is a definite fan favorite and is one of the only Black characters in the whole franchise. Enoch told the Guardian, “I didn’t go for Harry Potter in the beginning because I couldn’t think of any black characters.” He also claimed he “wasn’t an integral character,” but people admit that they admired him in the film because he “looked like [them].”

Since Harry Potter, Enoch has graduated from the University of Oxford and starred in several TV series, such as the American thriller How to Get Away with Murder, where he played a leading role. Right now, he is working on Apple TV+ sci-fi series Foundation.

Foundation was created by David S. Goyer, who wrote the Dark Knight film trilogy, and it is predominantly a sci-fi series. It’s all about a math genius (Enoch plays the lead’s adopted son) attempting to preserve a civilization amid the decline of the 12,000-year-old Galactic Empire. David Goyer described it as a chess game played over thousands of years. Foundation premiered on Apple TV+ on September 24.

Enoch’s father, William Russell, is also an actor. Enoch confessed that being an actor “always felt possible” since he grew up watching his father onstage in plays and also watching some of his films. William Russell starred in several films and TV series, including The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Doctor Who, and The Great Escape.

Enoch also spoke of how grateful he is to have had success as an actor:

Part of growing up is, you realise: ‘My experience isn’t everyone’s, and actually, I’ve had it really good.’ Why shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to follow a career in this industry?

He has also basked in recent American success, and he admitted that it was different acting in America than in the United Kingdom.

Going to the states removed me from a context where I had that sense of belonging. I gained a different perspective, which informed the way I view myself coming back to the UK.

Alfred Enoch is currently back at Shakespeare’s Globe, in London, in Romeo and Juliet. He is playing the lead part of Romeo, opposite Rebekah Murrell.