Hogwarts just got a bit livelier. HBO’s adaptation of “Harry Potter” announced three of its castle ghosts, its most prominent moving portrait and the voice of the Sorting Hat on Friday, right before Halloween.
As far as the ghosts are concerned, Leo Bill will play Gryffindor house ghost Nearly Headless Nick; Andrew Brooke will play Slytherin house ghost the Bloody Baron; and Daniel Fearn will play the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff house ghost. Laura Smyth will play The Fat Lady, the moving portrait who guards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, while David Threlfall will voice the Sorting Hat, the enchanted hat that’s tasked with assigning new Hogwarts students their houses.
They will join previously announced cast members Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore.
Other cast members in Season 1 include Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid), Rory Wilmot (Neville Longbottom), Lox Pratt (Draco Malfoy), Leo Earley (Seamus Finnigan), Elijah Oshin (Dean Thomas), Tristan Harland (Fred Weasley), Gabriel Harland (George Weasley), Ruari Spooner (Percy Weasley), Alessia Leoni (Parvati Patil,) Sienna Moosah (Lavender Brown), Finn Stephens (Vincent Crabbe), William Nash (Gregory Goyle), Warwick Davis (Filius Flitwick), Sirine Saba (Pomona Sprout), Daniel Rigby (Vernon Dursley), Bel Powley (Petunia Dursley), Paul Whitehouse (Argus Filch), Johnny Flynn (Lucius Malfoy), Bertie Carvel (Cornelius Fudge), Luke Thallon (Quirinus Quirrell), Katherine Parkinson (Molly Weasley), Amos Kitson (Dudley Dursley), Gracie Cochrane (Ginny Weasley), Richard Durden (Cuthbert Binns), Louise Brealey (Rolanda Hooch), Bríd Brennan (Poppy Pomfrey), Leigh Gill (Griphook), Anton Lesser (Garrick Ollivander), Harry Gilby (Charlie Weasley), Jasper Talbot (James Potter) and Hannah Chinn (Lily Potter).
As for Season 2, Kit Harington (Gilderoy Lockhart), Bonnie Hill (Ginny Weasley), Lenny Rush (Dobby), Billy Barratt (Tom Riddle), Rafe Spall (Arthur Weasley), Molly Hewitt-Richards (Moaning Myrtle) and Jasper Ambrose (Colin Creevey) will be part of that season.
Based on J.K. Rowling’s beloved and bestselling books, the “Harry Potter” series is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner. Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the series for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. Other executive producers include Rowling, Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, David Heyman of Heyday Films, Laura Neal and Jon Brown.
