Miriam Margolyes is wrong about adult Harry Potter fans

Miriam Margolyes is a fan-favorite in the Harry Potter world, portraying Herbology teacher Professor Sprout before going viral multiple times for her outlandish and hilarious stories in interviews and on talk shows. Now, though, she’s upset much of the Potter fanbase by suggesting that adult fans need to “grow up” — but she couldn’t actually be more wrong.

Speaking to 1News earlier in March 2024, Margolyes said: “I worry about Harry Potter fans because they should be over that by now. It was 25 years ago, and it’s for children.”

Upon the interview going live, the 82-year-old actress did receive some backlash from longtime fans of the series, but doubled down on her take when speaking with ABC News Breakfast.

“I just think that it’s for children,” she explained again. “If your balls have dropped, then it’s time to forget about it. You know, go on to other things. It was 25 years ago, grow up!”

While her comments appear to come from a place of disinterest in the Potter universe, Margolyes did add that she felt the films were wonderful — albeit, just for children.

Here’s the thing: she’s absolutely and unequivocally wrong.

Anybody who has even shown the slightest interest in watching or reading the Harry Potter stories over the years will know how they evolve thematically throughout. A child of 11 could not handle reading Deathly Hallows as easily as they could Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone, for our friends across the pond).

This is likely something Margolyes herself may not even be aware of, either, having admitted to never watching or reading the Potter series.

In 2022 the actress — who appeared in Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — revealed the truth in a Cameo video: “I understand you and Chris are huge Harry Potter fans. Here’s the thing, I’m not. I’m not against it, I’m just not interested. I’ve never seen a film. I’ve never seen the books, I’ve never read them. I just pocket the money when it comes and I’m very grateful for it.

“I think that JK Rowling is a terrific writer, and I’m sure that Harry Potter’s world is a good world. But it’s not my world.”

This alone makes Margolyes’ take easier to understand: she isn’t fully aware of the intricacies, the thematic changes, or how the series grew darker with each book and film. Her fleeting appearance in the second and eighth movies likely didn’t give her the knowledge of how much of a turn they had taken.

Now, that’s not to say that the likes of Deathly Hallows and Half-Blood Prince were adult books, but you certainly couldn’t thrust them in front of a child and expect a real understanding of what is happening in them.

What you do get, though, is a generation of children that grew up alongside the Potter stories, and indeed the characters, in tandem, and that nostalgia for a specific moment in their lives can be unmatched. And that’s another key element that Miriam’s statement ignores.

Nostalgia is a powerful component in everyone’s lives. Tasting a certain sweet treat can teleport you to a specific childhood memory, or hearing a song can have you reminiscing on better days with someone you love. Those wistful moments — sometimes just a fleeting second — of forgetting your current problems and living in a romanticized time period in your head should be celebrated for the joy they instil, not frowned upon.

For many adults, that’s exactly what Harry Potter can provide. Like any film, or novel, or piece of music, or video game, it allows you to suspend your reality, the same as sitting down with your child to watch Toy Story, or with friends to watch Oppenheimer.

What Potter has in its favor is that it is the length of seven books, or eight films. That is many hours to sink into, and allows viewers or readers the chance to really immerse themselves for a significant amount of time.

Importantly, though — and perhaps most importantly of all — why does it really matter? As Potter lead actor Daniel Radcliffe said in BBC documentary ‘Tom Felton Meets the Superfans’: “If you’re going to be obsessed with something, being obsessed with a series of books or films is pretty good. Some people are obsessed with heroin.”

These are words that you can use for almost anything you’re a fan of, assuming it’s not hurting people, too. Many adults get shamed for still playing video games, but we need not even go into why this archaic view is to be scoffed at, because everybody knows now that it’s not a shameful hobby.

So, why should that shame be applied to adult Harry Potter fans? While Margolyes may not understand the nuance behind the Harry Potter world and why many who loved it as children carry it into adulthood, those who do shouldn’t feel anything but joy when they sit down for their annual Christmas Harry Potter marathon. I will, at least.