Valerie Terranova/FilmMagic; David M. Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage; Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
HBO is making an all-new TV series adapting the Harry Potter books, with an all-new cast set to star
Daniel Radcliffe tells PEOPLE how he's feeling about the reboot series and reveals if he's talked to his former costars, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, about it
As a new Harry Potter era begins, Radcliffe is shifting his focus to comedy as he stars alongside Tracy Morgan in NBC's The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins
The Wizarding World is being revisited for the first time inan all-new HBO TV show, which is slated to adapt each ofJ.K. Rowling's seven books into their own respective seasons. ForDaniel Radcliffe, it's a lot to take in.
The series, whichbegan production in July, sees a new trio of young actors —Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton— portray Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as they matriculate at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
For Radcliffe,Rupert GrintandEmma Watson, who originated the characters in the eight-film series, playing them from 2001 until 2011, seeing new faces come into the frame is "surreal" — and they're processing it together.
Radcliffe, 36, tells PEOPLE that he has been in touch with Grint, 37, and Watson, 35, amid the news of the new adaptation, and they have all been reflecting on "how surreal [it is] to watch people starting off on that journey, all those years later."
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
Radcliffe — who starsTracy Morganin an all-new NBC comedy,The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins— says he and his former costars haven't had "a ton of communication about the show specifically," but they're all on the same page about the range of emotions they're feeling.
"It's one of those where I think we all just know how the others feel, because we're also feeling it," he says. "You justsee the pictures of these kids, and you just want to grab them and hug them. That's the impulse that I think that we, mainly, all have."
Radcliffe also shares that seeing how young the new castmembers are is giving him a new perspective on his own experience as a child star. "When you're 11, and you're doing something, you're like, 'Of course I'm old enough to do this — I'm the oldest I've ever been.' But now when I meet 11-year-olds, I am like, 'Whoa, that seems nuts.' It puts into perspective," he says.
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"Honestly, it makes me admire – and I do tell them this, but my parents — more than I was capable of doing at the time. Just going like, 'Wow, you got me through something crazy, and you did it with a huge amount of humor,' yeah, it's a big task."
Peter Mountain/Warner Bros.;Aidan Monaghan / HBO
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As a newHarry Potterera begins, theTony-winneris shifting his focus to the comedy world. InThe Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins, Radcliffe stars as a down-on-his-luck director who decides to film a documentary about disgraced football player, Reggie Dinkins (Morgan), in an attempt to rehabilitate Reggie's public image.
Working with Morgan, 57, was "awesome," Radcliffe says. "I always say, the thing about Tracy — what he brings as an actor is it is unteachable and unlearnable. He just has a natural comedy, charisma in his bones. There are line readings he has access to that 99% of actors just cannot say."
"Every day, he's going to say five of the craziest things you've ever heard, but also be incredibly kind and generous and funny," he adds of the30 Rockstar.
Scott Gries/NBC
Along with Radcliffe and Morgan,Erika Alexander, Precious Way,Bobby Moynihanand Jalyn Hall also star in the new comedy series fromTina Feyand Robert Carlock.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkinspremieres Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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