Fans are stunned after learning 'Bridgerton' star was also in 'Harry Potter'

It's a known fact that most well-regarded British actors have appeared in one of these three franchises: Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, or Harry Potter.

Seriously, if you've ever marathoned the series as an adult, then you'll know that the entire cast always feels a lot more familiar on repeat, and it's amazing how some ex-Potter alums keep cropping up in unexpected places.

For example, this week it seems a whole lot of social media users were left gobsmacked, after learning that the actor who plays Prince Friederich on the 2020 period drama series Bridgerton also had a role in the original Harry Potter movies way back.

Credit: PA Images

According to PopSugar, the actor in question is none other than 34-year-old British actor and model Freddie Stroma.

Per IMDB, Stroma's other credits include sci-fi author HG Wells in the ABC series Time After Time, Adam Cromwell on the Lifetime dramedy series Unreal, and as Cormac Mclaggen, a Hogwarts student with a crush on Emma Watson's Hermione Granger, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One and Part Two.

As you can see, the news has broken on social media this week, and has shocked a lot of fans of both franchises to their very core:

For instance, one Twitter user wrote: "i just found out that prince friedrich from bridgerton is cormac mclaggen from harry potter and my brain cannot comprehend this information, this man is a chameleon i swear #Bridgerton. [sic]"

Another person took to Twitter to tweet: "I've finally figured out why Prince Friedrich of Bridgerton looked so familiar. Of course! The character is played by the same actor who played Harry Potter's annoying Cormac McLaggen!!! [sic]"

Meanwhile, someone else wrote: "SO YOU'RE TELLING ME FREDDIE STROMA IS LUKE FROM A CINDERELLA STORY ONCE UPON A SONG IS ALSO CORMAC MCLAGGEN FROM HARRY POTTER IS ALSO PRINCE FRIEDRICH FROM BRIDGERTON???? [sic]"

A fourth person wrote: "THis mf Cormac from Harry Potter was Prince Friedrich in #Bridgerton. [sic]"

And another viewer added: "I finally found out where I knew Prince Friedrich from Bridgerton from! The actor played Cormac McLaggen in Harry Potter! I KNEW HE LOOKED FAMILIAR!"

One very smitten fan wrote: "When you find out the guy who played Prince Friedrich in Bridgerton also played Cormac McLaggen in Harry Potter and Luke in Pitch Perfect I went from (Cormac) to (Luke) to (Prince Friedrich) [sic]"

Finally, one other person chimed in "I won’t ever get over asshole Cormac McLaggen becoming lovable Prince Friedrich tbh. [sic]"

However, Stroma isn't the first person to shock TV addicts this way - Harry Melling, the actor who portrayed Dudley Dursley, recently stunned viewers of the Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit due to his drastically different appearance.