The year is 2001. Blockbuster is alive and well. Everyone is playing Snake on one of those Nokia brick phones. Avocado toast is not yet a *thing*.
Oh, and the first Harry Potter movie has just been released, which means that - for kids of the late 80s/90s - the best cinematic series of ALL TIME has begun. Seriously - it had dragons, time-travel, werewolves... what more could you want?
Well, looking back now, the acting probably could have been a bit better. After all, the stars of the movies were all so young at that point, and they've certainly come a long way in the subsequent 17 years. Emma Watson (Hermoine Granger) has since gone on to become a prominent feminist and advocate for women's equality, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) has found success as in other films such as The Woman in Black and Swiss Army Man, and Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas)... well, he's become pretty spicy.
Enoch might not be the most memorable character from the HP franchise, but he did appear in all eight movies. Plus, he's probably been one of the most successful members of the original cast, as he's now internationally known for his role as Wes in How to get Away With Murder.
(Let's pause here for a moment for all the people who have just realised why they recognised the scrappy law student when they first saw him alongside Viola Davis. Everyone had a chance to digest that information? Ok, then let's move on.)
And this is what he looks like now...
Dayum. Talk about a glo-up.
But that picture alone doesn't do the star justice. Here's a few more... you know, just so you can judge his good looks for yourselves.
In a recent interview, Enoch revealed that he almost scuppered his dreams of becoming a professional actor when he was first given the opportunity to audition for the Harry Potter role at the age of 11.
"[The casting agents] cast the net wide. Pretty much everyone [at his school] auditioned," he said - and that put him off.
"I thought, 'This is unrealistic, it’s not going to happen,' and probably beneath that was some kind of fear that already I knew it was what I wanted to do. So I didn’t want to be told I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t good enough."
What's more, Enoch was unsure about whether there were actually any black characters in the Harry Potter universe that would be suitable for him to play.
Thankfully, though, one of the casting directors spotted Enoch performing on-stage in a separate project, and chose him to be Dean Thomas as a result.
Just as Harry, Ron, Hermoine (and, of course, Neville Longbottom) had their chance to shake off their HP characters and come into their own as successful actors in the adult world, Dean Thomas, too, has proven himself to be well and truly grown up now.
And we have to say, he's killing it.
