If the global reaction to HBO's new Harry Potter series' trailer is anything to go by, child actor Dominic McLaughlin is about to experience an onslaught of public attention as he is thrust into the limelight ahead of the highly anticipated release.
Mirroring Daniel Radcliffe's career, who was also 12 years old when the Harry Potter movie franchise made its debut in 2001, the Scottish pre-teen and his family are about to watch their lives change forever when the series hits the airwaves on Christmas Day.
Unlike the original Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Dominic has already wet his acting feet, appearing in the Sky comedy film Grow with Nick Frost (who plays Rubeus Hagrid in the new show), the BBC adventure series Gifted, and in an on-stage production of Macbeth in Edinburgh.
However, while he is no stranger to a TV set, nothing will compare to the magnitude of the Harry Potter universe and its global appeal. HELLO! asked a psychologist how the budding actor can mentally and emotionally prepare for his inevitable fame as his star skyrockets.
An altered sense of self
Becoming famous is an unnatural phenomenon for anyone, but especially for someone who is still finding out who they are and exploring their personal identity as they navigate puberty and coming of age.
For Dominic and his fellow castmates, Alastair Stout, 12, who plays Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton, 11, who plays Hermione Granger, their exploring years will play out under a microscope as they live life in the public eye.
"When someone becomes widely known at a very young age, the main challenge is not the attention itself, but how quickly their sense of self becomes shaped by it," Joanna Konstantopoulou, a London-based HCPC-registered practitioner psychologist with over 17 years of professional clinical experience, told HELLO!.
She continued: "At that stage of life, identity is still forming, so sudden visibility can blur the line between who they are and how they are seen."
© Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesA stable life to mitigate the risk
While there is little that can ever really prepare a person for the extremities and intensity of fame, there are some precautions parents and family members can put in place to lower the risk of any issues as a direct result of becoming a public persona.
Joanna suggested: "Preparation is less about managing fame and more about maintaining stability around it. That means keeping parts of life that are not public, having people who relate to them in the same way as before, and not allowing every opportunity or decision to be driven by external pressure or expectation."
She added: "For parents and those close to them, the role is to create consistency and boundaries. The biggest risks tend to come when the environment becomes too focused on success, exposure or commercial decisions, and less on the individual’s development."
© HBOIndependent development
One of the main side effects of a famous life, and a factor that contributes to the chaotic nature of child stars who find themselves lost once a role ends, is a lack of independent thinking and room to grow.
Teenagers in particular need space and time to learn who they are and who they would like to be without an influx of outside opinions and pressures to conform.
© HBOThe expert explained: "What we often see when fame happens quickly at a young age is a loss of grounding, where the person adapts to what is expected of them rather than developing independently.
"The most effective way to protect against that is to keep their world balanced, predictable, and not entirely centred around their public role."
