David Threlfall will voice the Sorting Hat while Leo Bill plays Nearly Headless Nick, part of a fresh wave of casting before the December 25 premiere.
HBO's Harry Potter reboot keeps adding names, and this time it's the castle's resident spirits getting the call sheet.
David Threlfall, known for playing Frank Gallagher in the original British Shameless, will voice the Sorting Hat, the enchanted object that decides which of the four houses every new Hogwarts student lands in. Leo Bill takes on Nearly Headless Nick, Gryffindor's ghost famous for his botched decapitation. Andrew Brooke plays the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's resident spectre, and Daniel Fearn is Hufflepuff's Fat Friar. Rounding out the announcement is Laura Smyth as the Fat Lady, the portrait who guards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room and won't budge without the correct password.
The casting arrived via HBO and Harry Potter's official social accounts on Halloween eve, according to /Film, and follows an announcement just days earlier confirming Harry Gilby as Charlie Weasley and Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn as James and Lily Potter. Between the two drops, the show has now filled in a chunk of the Hogwarts furniture that the original films either trimmed or glossed over.
One notable restoration: Peeves the Poltergeist, who will be played by Peter Serafinowicz. Rik Mayall shot scenes as Peeves for the 2001 film but they never made the final cut. The series is apparently not making that mistake twice.
Still missing from the roster is the Gray Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost, who /Film notes is expected to matter more once the show reaches its planned final season covering Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. No casting has been confirmed for her yet.
A cast already two seasons deep
Season 1, adapting Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 25 with Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron, alongside John Lithgow's Dumbledore, Janet McTeer's McGonagall and Nick Frost as Hagrid.
Work on Season 2, based on Chamber of Secrets, is already underway, with Kit Harington cast as Gilderoy Lockhart, Lenny Rush as Dobby, Billy Barratt as Tom Riddle and Rafe Spall as Arthur Weasley among the names revealed so far.
Francesca Gardiner writes and executive produces Season 1, with Mark Mylod directing multiple episodes. J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films are among the executive producers. With under two months to go before the premiere, expect the trickle of casting news to keep coming right up to Christmas.
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