Hundreds of actors were auditioned, but only two remained. This novel tells the story of the boy who wasn't chosen.
It's 1999. Martin Hill is ten years old, crazy about Arsenal and has a minor crush on a girl named Betty. Then he makes it to the final two in the casting for
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
In the end, the other boy is picked for the role of a lifetime. A devastated Martin tries to move on with his life. But how can he escape his failure, especially when it's the most famous film series in the world? Foenkinos's smash-hit
Second Best is a playful, poignant story about fate, loss and forging one's own path in an age of never-ending comparison.
Quote: Interviewing actors usually involves asking them to remember things: lines spoken, expressions pulled, performances given weeks, months or even years ago that are only now seeing the light of day. But instead of fondly reminiscing about his latest project, Asa Butterfield is desperately trying to envisage it. The Sex Education star is about to appear in Second Best, a play about the boy who came agonisingly close to being cast as Harry Potter in the film franchise. It’s his first week of rehearsals, and Butterfield isn’t merely figuring out how to play the part, he’s also trying to predict how scared he’ll be while doing it: in an extremely bold move, this 90-minute one-hander will be the actor’s theatrical debut.
