Harry Potter star David Thewlis has amused fans with a truly unconventional and pithy New Year’s Eve post.
The acclaimed British actor, 62, well-known for playing Remus Lupin in the Potter franchise, is staying booked and busy, recently starring in Avatar: Fire and Ash, Netflix’s Kaos and Disney Plus’ The Artful Dodger – to name a few.
Like most of us, he celebrated the end of 2025 surrounded by loved ones, although his 362k followers won’t be getting much more of a glimpse into the festivities.
He posted an image of himself with 14 of his friends and family all in front of a Christmas tree and, notably, with all of their faces blurred out.
‘Spent a wonderful New Year’s Eve at an undisclosed location with undisclosed friends and family. In the name of privacy I have pixelated all their faces and personalities, including my own. Happy New Year folks,’ he explained in the caption.
It clearly landed as tongue-in-cheek commentary on social media privacy (with some going as far as to draw comparisons to the famously blacked-out images in the Epstein files and others to the eerie sci-fi dystopia series Black Mirror).
officialdavidthewlis/Instagram)
Fans specifically compared it to the episode titled White Christmas, in which people are blurred out of reality.
‘I felt like that Black Mirror episode looking at this picture haha Happy New Year to you and your pixelated loved ones,’ 13elucky commented.
‘This looks like that episode of Black Mirror,’ TracyAnno agreed.
‘Very funny and very accurate. I never get the people that want their privacy (totally fair) but are so desperate to show off to the world they can’t live with just not posting said private moment,’ merylm6 reflected.
‘Everyone looks stunning! So many joyful pixels in one, maybe two, places,’ staceystorey joked.
‘I thought something was wrong with my eyes for a minute,’ iamcaptainjuggadu said, and sarahvakili agreed that ‘this really had me’.
Keen-eyed sleuths managed to find another version of the blurred-out snap on Thewlis’ ex-partner’s account, actress Anna Friel, 49. The pair share a daughter, Gracie, and have remained good friends since their split in 2010.
The screen and stage star will next return for the second season of Disney’s Artful Dodger, in which he plays Fagin, the famed Oliver Twist character, in this re-imagined sequel story about the titular character all grown up.
He has also made his views on the use of technology, such as AI, in the creative sphere crystal clear.
Discussing director James Cameron’s descision to not use AI while creating the latest Avatar movie, he told Sky News: ‘I think there’s something intrinsically bad about AI in this industry, in the creative arts.
‘I think the minute it starts taking human creativity away, we should reject it.’
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