Last week, a swirl of speculation emerged online about Tilda Swinton potentially taking on the role of Voldemort in HBO’s forthcoming adaptation of the Harry Potter series. This rumour ignited controversy, not least because the original Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, has become infamous for her persistent and divisive anti-trans rhetoric. Many actors connected to the franchise have faced scrutiny for their involvement due to Rowling’s views, with some publicly distancing themselves from the project.
Given Swinton’s longstanding and vocal advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, it seems improbable she would align herself with a project so closely linked to Rowling. The 64-year-old actress has frequently expressed her queer sensibility and has supported LGBTQ+ causes over decades, far beyond mere trend-following. Earlier this year, she was photographed wearing a Protect The Dolls tee, a campaign that financially benefits the trans mutual aid group Trans Lifeline.
Swinton’s commitment to queer representation and rights dates back to the 1980s, when she first immersed herself in London’s queer theatre scene. A crucial influence was the openly gay filmmaker Derek Jarman, who cast her in her cinematic debut, the 1986 film Caravaggio. This deeply queer-filtered biopic explored the tumultuous life and relationships of the Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Swinton and Jarman developed a close creative partnership, with her starring in all of his films until his death in 1994 from AIDS-related complications.
Reflecting on that harrowing period during a recent interview on BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour, Swinton recounted attending 43 funerals in 1994 alone—a stark testament to the devastating toll of the HIV/AIDS crisis on the UK’s queer community. Among those she mourned was Jarman himself. ‘That was what our life was like then,’ she said. Swinton’s recollection highlights how the epidemic profoundly shaped her personal and artistic life, emphasising the vital role of community care amid widespread loss and family rejection.
She expressed poignant hope for the future, noting the advent of new HIV prevention tools such as the recently approved cabotegravir injection. This medical advancement is part of a broader public health drive aiming to eradicate new HIV transmissions in the UK by 2030. Swinton underscored the importance of younger generations understanding the history of the crisis, reminding us that HIV is no longer the ‘death sentence’ it once was.
Her experiences in the queer community—described as a creative ‘bedrock’ for her—are further explored in her recent book Ongoing and an accompanying exhibition at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. The show not only celebrates collaboration with influential directors like Jarman, Luca Guadagnino, and Pedro Almodóvar [Almodóvar’s The Human Voice is pictured] but also reflects on evolving artistic technologies and storytelling approaches.
Taking all this into account, it appears incongruous that Swinton would support a project so entangled with the legacy of a figure responsible for ongoing harm to trans people. Indeed, Swinton herself dismissed the Harry Potter films back in 2016 for romanticising boarding school culture, signalling a distance from the franchise’s core aesthetic and themes.
In essence, Swinton’s profound history of queer alliance, artistic collaboration, and personal grief during the AIDS crisis strengthens the likelihood that she would not compromise her principles by joining a project tied to Rowling. Her story serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring impact of the epidemic on queer lives and the continuing importance of solidarity in the face of prejudice.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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