Harry Potter fans hotly debate whether Daniel Rigby is 'too handsome' to play Uncle Vernon

The casting of Daniel Rigby as Uncle Vernon in the new Harry Potter TV series has sparked wild debate over whether the actor is "too handsome" to play the part.

And you have to say, at first glance, the 42-year-old English star doesn't look the obvious choice to play Vernon, who's at one point described by J.K. Rowling as "a large, beefy man with very little neck and a busy black moustache".

Daniel, whose credits include Renegade Nell and Tom Jones, also looks a million miles away from the late Richard Griffiths, who played Vernon with devilish aplomb in the original movies.

One fan wrote on X: "While I am sure Mr Rigby is a fine actor, he is much too handsome to play Vernon Dursley".

Others have observed that at just 42, Daniel seems rather young for the part.

However, there has been a backlash against these views, with a whole Reddit thread springing up to defend the casting.

"I can see Daniel Rigby as Vernon. People criticizing the choice, take it easy! Characterization and makeup do wonders," wrote one Rigby defender.

Another wrote: "No idea why anyone would take one glance at a professional headshot photo and decide someone isn't right for a role. Utterly bizarre".

A third wrote: “Do people think the original cast just strolled up to the set, no make up, no nothing and just… looked like that?"

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Joining Daniel Rigby is A Small Light's Bel Powley as his wife, Petunia Dursley. Bel's casting also raised a few eyebrows, as she's notably younger than Fiona Shaw was when she played Aunt Petunia in the films. The role of their young son, Dudley, is still to be cast.

The makers are no doubt nervously looking at the reaction as they walk the tightrope of delivering on their promise to make a "faithful" adaptation of the books, while also executing a new take. After all, there's not much point to the TV series if it's just the same as the beloved movies.

Also cast in the latest announcement were Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, and Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy. Plus Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, and Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown. And finally Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge.

Let’s be honest, we will only discover the wisdom or not of the casting when the TV series finally comes out next year. All true Harry Potter fans will be hoping the makers have got it spot on...