Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson discuss new 'Harry Potter'

Daniel Radcliffe says stepping back into the Wizarding World as a spectator feels “surreal.”

As HBO Max’s upcoming Harry Potter series begins production, the actor revealed to People magazine that he, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have been privately reflecting on what it’s like to watch a new trio take over the roles that defined their childhoods.

Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton are now suiting up as Harry, Ron and Hermione for the TV adaptation, slated to reimagine J.K. Rowling’s seven books across multiple seasons.

Radcliffe admitted the original trio hasn’t had “a ton of communication about the show specifically,” but they don’t need to. “It's one of those where I think we all just know how the others feel, because we're also feeling it,” he said. “You just see 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.”

The 2001 film debut suddenly feels even more distant to Radcliffe now. “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,’” he reflected. “But now when I meet 11-year-olds, I am like, ‘Whoa, that seems nuts.’”

Though he’s written letters to the new cast, Radcliffe is careful not to hover. “I do not want to be a specter in the lives of these children at all.”