Paapa Essiedu says the racist backlash over his casting as Severus Snape in HBO’s Harry Potter series has not shaken his focus. Speaking with Variety at the TIME100 Next gala in New York on Thursday, October 29, the actor said his attention remains on the role.

“The whole team has been so supportive of me,” Essiedu told the outlet. “Obviously, my priority is the work.”

Essiedu, best known for I May Destroy You, takes over a role made famous by the late Alan Rickman in the Harry Potter films. Some fans have attacked the casting since it was first reported, and the response has at times turned into racist abuse.

‘With Open Eyes’

Essiedu said he understood the scale of the job before he signed on. “I walk into it with open eyes,” he told Variety. He also said the reaction has not been one-sided. “I’ve also been blown away by a lot of the support and well-wishes and excitement.”

The abuse has been serious. In March, Essiedu told The Sunday Times that he had received threatening messages, including one that read, “Quit or I’ll murder you.”

At the gala, Essiedu spoke about the work itself, including Snape’s look. “I think the way he looks tells so much about who he is — and who he wants people to think he is,” he said, crediting the show’s costume department.

“I’m really proud of what I’ve seen so far,” he added.

The series, HBO’s new adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s novels, opens with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It premieres this Christmas on HBO Max.

For now, Essiedu seems content to let the work answer the critics. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said.