The full-cast audio edition of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” was released Tuesday. Image courtesy of Audible
NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) — The voice stars from the Audible original recordings of J.K. Rowling’s beloved Harry Potter books say they were thrilled to fire up listeners’ imaginations and help them connect to the magical stories in an immersive new way.
Although the fantasy novels were previously taped as audio books with a single narrator voicing all of the characters, the 2025-26 adaptations feature a 200-person ensemble, original music and spectacular sound effects.
“It was really exciting to be a part of something so new. The Jim Dale and the Stephen Fry versions are so iconic and these adaptations aren’t to replace those versions. It’s just a new way for people to listen to the stories,” Nina Barker-Francis, who plays teen Hermione in Audiobooks four through seven, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“We’ve all grown up knowing Harry Potter, whether it’s through the films or through the books, so it does feel really special to be able to say that we are now a part of that franchise and getting to celebrate these stories and these characters again.”
Jaxon Knopf, who plays the titular wizard, agreed.
“Having such a big cast, it doesn’t take away from the amount that you can put your imagination into it. It just expands because you can just imagine all of these different people in all of these different places,” Knopf said.
“The music is incredible. There’s a sort of theme tune that runs throughout it, and that theme tune is now just so recognizable in my head and I love it so much.”
Knopf also liked how the series’ producers cast two sets of actors to play Harry, Hermione and their best friend Ron at different ages.
“They’ve never had two different trios or two groups of kids playing the trio,” Knopf said.
“I think that’s really interesting, you know, that passing over into a more mature version of the books because from Book 3 to Book 4, there’s quite a sharp change in maturity and darkness,” he added. “That’s aided by the switchover of the voices.”
Rhys Mulligan, who plays Ron, said that, until now, he equated Audiobooks to someone reading him a bedtime story.
“All your books are so brilliant compared to films because you are the maker of that universe. That universe is yours to keep,” Mulligan said.
“The storyteller is just feeding it to you. But the thing is, when you’ve got over 200 big characters, you’ve got so many insanely talented actors only focusing on one role, it’s amazing. There’s so much different talent, different perspectives and I welcome all of it because it’s so nice that fresh, new perspective and it’s in your head like you can imagine it. You can imagine the story.”
Although the stars largely recorded their dialogue in a studio with stand-ins instead of each other, they did have the chance to meet through chemistry readings and pickup sessions for incidental sounds, such as running, jumping and eating.
“That was a really fun day that we got to do. We got to also improvise some conversation,” Barker-Francis said.
“Actually, on that day, I think that was really funny, because Rhys, who voices Ron, burped and myself and Jaxon got to respond in character, and it was just so fun just to be able to play with these characters.”
Knopf remembered initially being nervous going into the chemistry readings, but then feeling better once he met Barker-Francis and Mulligan.
“Going into that room for such a big project is super nerve-wracking, but I really felt that we found this kind of spark between us,” he said.
“That’s kind of what gave the directors the peace of mind that we’d be able to adapt to being alone, but also being able to kind of understand that we could show that relationship even if we weren’t together.”
Mulligan said he would have loved to not only spend time with Knopf and Barker-Francis, but also some of the more seasoned members of the cast.
“It was annoying not to be around all of the other very famous actors. Like Hugh Laurie as Dumbledore. When I heard that, I was losing my mind,” he quipped. “It was crazy.”
Knopf, Mulligan and Barker-Francis took over the roles with Audiobook 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was released last month.
They will continue as the characters through the end of the series with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, available Tuesday; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due out April 14; and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, set to drop on May 12.
The ensemble also includes Cush Jumbo as the narrator, Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, Kit Harington as Professor Lockhart, Keira Knightley as Professor Umbridge, Iwan Rheon as Professor Lupin, Ruth Wilson as Bellatrix Lestrange, Leo Woodall as Bill Weasley, Simon Pegg as Arthur Weasley, James McAvoy as Mad-Eye Moody, Gemma Whelan as Professor Sprout, Matt Berry as Sir Cadogan, Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall and Mark Addy as Hagrid.
Frankie Treadaway, Max Lester, and Arabella Stanton portrayed Harry, Ron and Hermione respectively in Audiobooks 1, 2 and 3.
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