'Harry Potter' Series Star Nick Frost Says He's 'Not Aligned' with J.K. Rowling's Anti-Trans Views

"Kinky Boots" actor Nick Frost has been cast as Hagrid in the upcoming HBO series version of the "Harry Potter" books. Trans equality advocates pushed back hard at the news, but Frost says he's "not aligned" with Rowling's anti-trans views.

Frost "was asked about the backlash he received from trans rights activists after signing on to play the lovable half-giant," Variety reported, noting that the "How to Train Your Dragon" star told the Observer that he'd "had to disable comments on his triumphant Instagram post [announcing the gig] after criticism came from trans-rights supporters..."

"She's allowed her opinion and I'm allowed mine," Frost said – though, he added, "they just don't align in any way, shape or form."

The "Shaun of the Dead" star is the latest in a line of actors in the project to be confronted with the shadow cast by the author's years-long social media attacks on the trans community, which started in 2020 and ramped up last year when she posted a string of tweets in which she aimed critiques at cherry-picked individuals she said claimed to be transgender but were sexual predators.

American actor John Lithgow, who has been chosen to portray canonically gay wizard Dumbledore in the HBO long-form series, faced similar controversy, but shrugged it off.

"I thought, why is this a factor at all?" Lithgow told The Times UK, before adding that his decision to accept the role was "absolutely not" affected by the controversy around Rowling's inflammatory statements. Lithgow framed his choice in terms of career longevity, explaining that it "was a big decision because it's probably the last major role I'll play."

"It's an eight-year commitment," Lithgow noted, "so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role."

Frost was less sanguine about the controversy around Rowling's ongoing posts about the transgender community, reckoning that "maybe it shouldn't blow over?"

"We shouldn't just hope it will go away because it makes it easier," he continued of the controversy around Rowling's social media attacks. "Maybe we should educate ourselves."

Rowling "is an executive producer on the new series and was 'very involved in the process' of selecting its creative team, according to HBO chief Casey Bloys," Variety noted in a writeup of Frost's comments.

Bloys, in an appearance last month on Matthew Belloni's podcast "The Town," denied that the new series would "be infused" with Rowling's transphobic (and, more recently, ace-phobic) sentiments, and deflected discussion from the controversy around the cabler green lighting the series, saying, "if you want to debate [Rowling], you can go on Twitter."