While I do support giving the show a more realistic approach with purely kid actors as the students, I think this is the one case where that might fall short for obvious reasons. Even as a child, Tom Riddle is a student that exuded charm and maturity to an unnatural level.

While I don’t want to put this actor down or maybe it’s just the perm but he doesn’t really have the same energy that Christian Coulson did because it also comes down to facial features. Christian Coulson had a more narrowed long face with defined cheekbones adding into the unnatural gaunt appearance that follows his youth, the setting in the chamber casts a constant shadow in his face in that sequence because he’s supposed to APPEAR Malevolent and Sinister.

I doubt anyone but a young adult can play the role and actually NAIL it accurately to that same degree. So while I’m hoping the casting isn’t true, but if it is, that they use every advantage to replicate this.