Andrew Garfield feels that to forego watching the Harry Potter films due to the anti-transgender views espoused by the books’ author J.K. Rowling would be tantamount to “throw[ing] the baby out with the bath water.”
The two-time Oscar nominee, 42, told Hits Radio that he only “recently” watched the “really good” films, which released between 2001 and 2011.
“I know we shouldn’t be putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now through she who shall remain nameless, but the soul and spirit of those films … the kids are so good,” said Garfield, who in particular praised titular star Daniel Radcliffe’s work.
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint also starred in the eight original installments as Harry’s best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
“And I’m like, ‘Oh, man, we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ There are so many beautiful artists who worked on those films,” Garfield said of “all the artisans” who worked on the franchise.
The interview aired Wednesday, just a day before HBO dropped its first trailer for this fall’s Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” dropping this Christmas and starring Dominic McLaughlin in the title role, as well as Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron.
The upcoming series and its trailer have reignited tensions between fans torn, in no small part, over whether watching will equate to excusing or even supporting Rowling’s years of anti-transgender rhetoric — which Radcliffe, Watson, Grint and others previously denounced.