Cillian Murphy "categorically" denies rumors he's playing Voldemort in the HBO Harry Potter show: "Can you make that the headline?"

Cillian Murphy has responded to rumors that he's playing big bad Lord Voldemort in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter TV show – and his answer is pretty definitive.

"I’m categorically not," Murphy told The Times (or "scoffed", as the publication reports). "Can you make that the headline?"

Rumors have been circulating for a while and Murphy has been a popular fan cast choice for the role of series villain. "Cillian is one of my favorite actors, so that would be amazing," Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Potter movies, even said last year.

Ralph Fiennes played He Who Shall Not Be Named in the Harry Potter movies, but Harry's nemesis is one of the only major roles yet to be cast in HBO's new small-screen adaptation. Succession's Francesca Gardiner is on board as showrunner, and the adult cast includes John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, and Nick Frost.

One thing Murphy is categorically set to do, however, is reprise his role as gangster Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. The new movie picks up a few years after 2022's season 6 finale and sees Tommy return to Birmingham in the midst of the Second World War. Murphy will be joined by returning cast members like Stephen Graham, as well as new additions Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan, and Tim Roth.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man arrives in theaters on March 6 before streaming on Netflix on March 20. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other biggest movie release dates in 2026.