Riddikulus!
English actor Ben Barnes has been a staple of many sci-fi and fantasy franchises — “Westworld,” “The Punisher,” “Shadow and Bone” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” — but he can’t escape fans coming up to him about Harry Potter despite never appearing in any of the films.
“[The way] that started, it was about doing a prequel,” he told The Post in a recent interview while promoting his debut album, “Where the Light Gets In.”
For many years, it was popular among Harry Potter devotees to “fan cast” a prequel series about Harry’s dad and his friends during their school days, aka “The Marauders.”
Ben Barnes, English actor and singer, photographed at the New York Post on Feb. 3, 2025. Paige Kahn/ NY Post
Gary Oldman in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
“[Fans] had myself and Andrew Garfield and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. They wanted to do this prequel idea. I knew nothing about it … It went on for years before I had any idea what was happening,” explained Barnes.
A prequel series about Harry’s father and his friends doesn’t exist — the only “Potter” prequel is the “Fantastic Beasts” movies about a young Dumbledore. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the internet.
Barnes was the go-to cast choice to play a younger version of Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, who was played by Gary Oldman in the movies. Garfield was the “fan cast” of Remus Lupin (played by David Thewlis in the movies) and Taylor-Johnson was the choice to play a teen version of Harry’s father, James.
He added: “I was being asked to sign copies of Harry Potter books, and being given these Gryffindor ties.”
The actor said that when asked to sign Potter paraphernalia, he was bewildered for a long time.
“I felt like saying, ‘You know, I was in ‘Narnia,’ not ‘Harry Potter,’ right? Do you understand that I was not in these films?”
Barnes photographed at the New York Post on Feb. 3, 2025. Paige Kahn/ NY Post
Georgie Henley (from left), William Moseley, Barnes, Anna Popplewell and Skandar Keynes take part in the production of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” on May 31, 2007. Murray Close/Disney
Barnes (left) as Logan and Jimmi Simpson as William in “Westworld.” Courtesy of HBOBarnes said it got to the point where someone even told him, “I loved you in Harry Potter.”
He recalled replying, “You absolutely didn’t, because I wasn’t in it!”
Barnes, now 43, is too old to play Sirius Black during the character’s school years if a prequel ever happened. But now he’s the right age to play adult Sirius Black.
“It’s funny that that’s been going on for so many years that we are now the same age as the actors like Gary Oldman were when they started those films,” he said.
Emma Watson (from left), Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Co
Jessie Mei Li and Barnes in “Shadow and Bone.” DAVID APPLEBY/NETFLIX
Barnes photographed at the New York Post on Feb. 3, 2025. Paige Kahn/ NY PostThe Harry Potter series is getting a reboot in the form of an upcoming HBO show that’s expected to come out in 2026.
Could that be Barnes’ chance to finally play Sirius Black?
“I think it’s interesting that people are still referencing it to me all these years later,” he told The Post. “Look, I’m a huge fan of the books. I’ve done so many films and TV shows — mainly films based on works of literature that I love. I was as big a fan of those books as the next guy. So, you never know.”
