Sex Education star cast in Harry Potter-inspired one man play

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Eric Garcia

Washington Bureau Chief

Asa Butterfield will star in a new one-man show inspired by Harry Potter.

The Sex Education star, 27, who is known for his role as Otis Milburn in the Netflix comedy drama series, will take to the theatre stage for the first time in Michael Longhurts’ Second Best, written by Barney Norris and based on the best-selling novel by David Foenkinos.

Butterfield will play Martin Hill, a man who narrowly missed out on playing the iconic role of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe as a child. While he prepares for fatherhood, Martin reflects on the key moment in his life and confronts his feelings about the career-defining near miss.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas actor said in a statement: “It’s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, a universal tale of ‘what ifs’, and I can’t wait to bring it to life on stage for the very first time.”

Meanwhile, producer Simon Friend added: “I read David Foenkinos’ wonderful novel when it was published last year, and it immediately cried out to be told on stage.

“It’s a coming-of-age story of success and failure, love and loss, and fathers and sons – as well as the universal experience of plans going awry.”

He continued: “We’re incredibly excited about the incomparable Asa Butterfield making his stage debut in Barney Norris’ wonderfully funny and moving adaptation of the novel, with Michael Longhurst directing. A team of artists who are most definitely not second best.”

Second Best is not connected to the Harry Potter series and has not been endorsed by the franchise’s creator JK Rowling. The premise came from an anecdote told by the film series’ casting director, who revealed Daniel Radcliffe had faced competition from another actor who was “terrific and very vulnerable,” the BBC reports.

The Telegraph said of Foenkinos’ novel last year: “It’s all a playful blend of fiction and fact: just as Martin is never entirely sure where he ends and Harry begins, the reader is unsure as to which elements are invented and which aren’t.

“In a society where we often only discuss failure as a precursor to success – those, such as JK Rowling, who fail once to fail better – Second Best says something more hopeful: that to be ordinary is a success of its own.”