HBO's Harry Potter Cast Is Coming Together. Here's Everything We Know

The new Harry Potter cast is taking shape, thirteen years after the final installment of the original film series.

That's right—it's been almost a decade and a half since The Deathly Hallows Pt. II, which is a pretty long time to go without a reboot for a franchise as huge as Harry Potter, not least in the age of rapacious IP exploitation. Yeah, sure, the Fantastic Beasts movies scratched an itch for the wannabe wizards of the world, and the triple-A video game Hogwarts Legacy provided a veritable Floo Network for millions of Potterheads. But neither holds a magically floating candle to the O.G. films, right?

So now comes an HBO TV series adapting the original Harry Potter novels, which is expected to be epic in length, rolling out over the course of a decade (or more).

The film series made stars of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, and introduced a new generation of fans to beloved British and Irish character actors like Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, and Imelda Staunton. There’s little doubt, then, that HBO’s Harry Potter is the hottest casting target for British talent this side of Game of Thrones, even if enthusiasm for the project has been dampened by Potter creator J.K. Rowling's ongoing social-media crusade against trans rights. (HBO head Casey Bloys has described Rowling as “fairly involved” with the series’ development, while noting that her presence hasn't put anyone off signing up, per IndieWire.)

Nevertheless, all involved have a formidable challenge on their hands. Can they live up to the beloved character portrayals that gave the movies their magic? We should know a year or so from now — the series is set to begin shooting this year with an anticipated debut on HBO Max in 2026. We also know that Harry, Ron and Hermione will be cast from a pool of unknown child actors, as was the case with the films.

The latest big news for the Harry Potter cast? HBO have officially confirmed the four biggest adult parts in the Potterverse: it'll be John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Nick Frost as Hagrid, and Paapa Essiedu as Snape.

Casting is well underway, then. But who should get the wands, robes, and magic motorbike? For this exercise, think of GQ as the sorting hat, as we pick through the most eligible British actors to join HBO’s new Potterverse.

Confirmed cast

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Nick Frost attends the UK Premiere of "Get Away" at the Picturehouse Central on January 7, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)Dave Benett

Actor/comedian Nick Frost, a mainstay of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, is confirmed for Hagrid. It's the perfect marriage of role and actor, as far as we're concerned: Hogwarts' very own BFG will allow Frost to play a less immediately comic part than we'd usually associate him with, while his own comedic instincts will surely bring out Hagrid's funnier side. At one point, Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein was reportedly up for the role—which would have been a very different direction indeed. Nevertheless, HBO have confirmed that it'll be Frost on the magic motorbike.

John Lithgow.

Following months of speculation, HBO finally confirmed in mid-April that it'll be veteran actor John Lithgow as Dumbledore. Casting an American in Potter's second biggest role might come with its own dose of controversy for British fans, but lay down the torches for a moment. Nailing the British accent is nothing to an actor of Lithgow's caliber (recall his turn as Winston Churchill in The Crown), and perhaps it's only fair that an American should take the role of one of modern fiction's most famous Englishmen for once, given how Britain's acting exports disproportionately dominate the small screen across the Atlantic. Besides which, Lithgow's many Emmys and Oscar nominations speak for themselves.

Janet McTeer. Kate Green/Getty Images

It'll be Janet McTeer of Albert Nobbs, Ozark and The Menu as McGonagall, the Hogwarts matriarch played by the late, great Maggie Smith in the films. Smith is another tough example to live up to, but McTeer certainly has the talent and look. HBO's confirmation came in mid-April after months of speculation; names previously circulated for the role included Sharon Horgan (of Bad Sisters).

Paapa Essiedu. Dave Benett/Getty Images

I May Destroy You and The Lazarus Project's Paapa Essiedu has been officially announced as the next Snape. His star has rapidly risen in recent years, with roles in Gangs of London, Saoirse Ronan's film The Outrun, and a standout turn in Black Mirror serving to cement his screen bonafides. Expect his Harry Potter part to shoot him into the A-list stratosphere—and we have no doubt he'll match up to the might of Alan Rickman.

Screen newcomer Luke Thallon, the 29-year-old actor fresh off his acclaimed run as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been cast as Professor Quirrell. Notably, it's his first major screen credit; could we see him take the reigns as Voldemort later down the line, too?

Another astute casting comes in the form of British comedy legend Paul Whitehouse as Filch. The Fast Show star might be a surprising pick for Filch, Hogwart's ill-tempered muggle cleaner, but maybe that's the point—HBO appears to be leaning into comedy with this Harry Potter cast, and Whitehouse might help file off Filch's rough edges.

Speculation

Cillian Murphy.

You need a serpentine, slippery fellow for He Who Must Not Be Named—the sort of actor whose very presence can feel terrifying. (It also helps if you can picture them taking on the look of Munch’s The Scream after a few hours of prosthetics and make-up.) The obvious pick, if his recent Oscar win hasn’t taken him out of the running, would be Cillian Murphy, whose sharp, spooky angularity just feels right for old Vold. In April, Warner Bros TV head Channing Dungey told Deadline “I have no comment, no comment, no comment” when asked if Murphy was in the running for Dumbledore, an answer that only stoked this fire. She did say that they were “still weighing a couple of different options there,” however.

It should also be noted that Murphy is being “eyed up” to play Professor Quirrell according to insider DanielRPK (via GamingBible), the Defence Against the Dark Arts tutor who is essentially possessed by Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone—you'll recall that the dark wizard takes up residency on the back of Quirrell's head, hidden under a headwrap. This would probably preclude Murphy from taking on Voldemort, but perhaps there is a creative way around such double-casting.

For a younger pick, we'd suggest the HBO Potter bosses look no further than Stranger Things’ Jamie Campbell Bower, whose villainous Vecna is as gross and spine-chillingly malignant as you’d ever want Voldemort to be. He did play the young version of another evil wizard, Grindelwald, in the Potter film universe. But does that really matter?

Kit Harington.

He's unhinged, erratic, and just a little bit disheveled—but, crucially, kind of endearing. The Sirius Black formula is a tough one to crack. Do you go the Gary Oldman route and recruit an actor you can reliably expect to perform to the back of the hall, or go for someone who will offer a subtler approach to Black's inner turmoil? Either way, Kit Harington would be our first choice: he's a range-y performer who fits the age profile, can play to both Black's light and shade, and he just seems like he'd be a cool godfather. A word here, too, for fellow Game of Thrones alumnus Richard Madden, who carries many of the same qualities, though we'd expect a more introspective version of Black from him.

Some fringe shouts could be Benedict Cumberbatch, although he's on the upper end of the likely age range. And could fellow MCU actor Tom Hiddleston inject Black with a little of Loki's mania? He certainly seems the right fit from the A-list Hollywood crop—and it's worth noting that, at 43, he's around the same age as Oldman when he shot Prisoner of Azkaban, give or take a few years.

Mia Goth.

The way that we imagine Bellatrix is so specific to Helena Bonham Carter that it'll be an uphill battle for anyone who is called upon to bring their own interpretation to the role—but such is the case for most of this cast. To our mind, the standout nominee would be Mia Goth, the scream queen whose turn in 2022's Pearl was considered Oscar-worthy enough for commentators to question why another performance in a horror film had been snubbed after she missed out on a nomination. Her knack for playing women on the edge would serve Bellatrix well.

The Dursleys

Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Karwai Tang

One of the hottest casting rumors around HBO's Potter project is that Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been offered the role of Harry's pompous Aunt Petunia, played by Irish acting legend Fiona Shaw in the original film series. (This tip also comes from the insider DanielRPK.) At 39, Waller-Bridge is about the right age, and it should also be said that she has a similar look to Shaw. Plus, there was always a campy humor to Petunia—almost drag-like with her rich red lipstick, Marge Simpson pearls and cartoonish Thatcher scowl—that you could see the Fleabag creator tapping into with great success. But who might be her Vernon? Give it to Matt Berry, who would surely make the most delicious opera out of line reads like “No post on Sundays—ha!”

This post originally appeared in British GQ.