Some people who aren’t happy with Tuesday’s election results have turned to Harry Potter for comfort, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star Ezra Miller understands why.
In a live interview with BuzzFeed News' Adam B. Vary on Thursday, the actor and self-proclaimed Potterhead said he “completely identifies” with those who are finding solace in the universe J.K. Rowling created.
“Me and my friends watched [Harry Potter and] the Deathly Hallows last night, not because it was thematically appropriate to my life because I was doing this today," Miller said. "Because some of my friends genuinely needed that. The fear that a lot of people are feeling right now is so palpable and so real.”
During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump said he’s in favor of a ban on Muslim immigration into the United States, he made clear that he is pro-life and “will be appointing pro-life justices,” and he said he wants to build a wall on the Mexican–American border that Mexico would pay for. Not to mention, there was the leaked video recording from 2005 that revealed Trump saying abhorrent things about women.
The prospect of a Trump presidency has incited fear and unrest among many Americans who have already started protesting the election results. “I mean, 'The ministry has fallen, Scrimgeour is dead, they are coming’ feels pretty legit to me,” Miller continued, comparing the current political climate to the state of the wizarding world when Voldemort rises to power in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Miller noted that people are connecting with Harry Potter because “the thematic material that the stories deal with are more pertinent than ever,” but also because the wizarding world provides a strong sense of ease for those who grew up with the series.
“The world of J.K. Rowling [is] this beautiful mythology that comforts us, and if we knew it as children, it brings us to a very basic place of feeling like we’re not alone in the world,” Miller said. Rowling, he added, "reminds us of the tools that we have in times of darkness, like the one we are barreling into right now: our love, our support of each other, friendship, community.”
Miller also used the opportunity to make a call to action of sorts, in Harry Potter terms. "I think we’re going to need the Order of the Phoenix," he said. "We’re going to need people who are willing to make sacrifices and take risks for the people who are going to be in danger.
