Grey's Anatomy Actor Harry Shum Jr. Starred In A Fantasy Drama Based On A Popular Book Series
As surgical resident Benson "Blue" Kwan on the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," Harry Shum Jr. understands what it's like to play a character whose responsibility is to save lives. But before the deaths and drama of working at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Shum played a character who wasn't concerned with mortality. He starred as an immortal warlock named Magnus Bane on the Freeform series "Shadowhunters," which aired from 2016 to 2019.
"Shadowhunters" was based on "The Mortal Instruments" YA book series by Cassandra Clare. The fantasy show is about human-angel hybrids who have special abilities and hunt demons. Shum's Magnus has centuries' worth of experience with magic and uses his prowess to help the main character, Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara), and other Shadowhunters. Magnus is also bisexual, and his relationship with Alec Lightwood (Matthew Daddario) is popular within the fandom and the LGBTQ+ community.
Harry Shum Jr. auditioned for The Mortal Instruments franchise before Shadowhunters
Spanning three seasons, "Shadowhunters" is the most successful live-action adaptation of Clare's six-book "Mortal Instruments" series, but it isn't the only one. Before the fantasy show aired on Freeform, there was a 2013 film adaptation titled "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" — based on the first novel. Shum, who's currently competing on "Dancing with the Stars," auditioned for the movie, but wouldn't become a part of the supernatural universe until the TV show premiered.
In the movie, Magnus is played by Godfrey Gao. A sequel was planned but never materialized. Although Shum didn't land a role in the movie version of "The Mortal Instruments," he already had an advantage with the author. When news broke about Shum's "Shadowhunters" casting, Clare shared on Tumblr that she had actually fan-cast him as Magnus years ago — "You probably know him from 'Glee,' ... but he's our Magnus now and his audition rocked it. Also, weirdly, I posted about him being Magnus three years ago." The author admitted that it was "pretty cool" for her dream casting to become a reality.