See who’s heading to Hogwarts for HBO’s TV adaptation

Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter

Dominic McLaughlin will play sequence protagonist (and cultural icon) Harry Potter within the upcoming sequence. McLaughlin’s solely different display credit score is the upcoming movie Develop, by which he’ll seem alongside Nick Frost, the Harry Potter sequence’ new Hagrid.

Once we first meet Harry, he is an orphan residing miserably together with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. On his eleventh birthday, he is visited by Hagrid, who whisks him away to the Hogwarts Faculty of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the place he learns about his household historical past, will get his first wand, meets his new greatest associates, and confronts He Who Shall Not Be Named for the primary time.

Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger

Arabella Stanton’s function as Hermione, a intelligent however socially insecure Hogwarts scholar, marks the younger actress’ onscreen debut.

Hermione is initially written off by Harry as conceited, however the pair turn into shut friends after they defeat a troll within the ladies’ toilet together with Ron.

Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley

Alastair Stout will make his display debut as Ron Weasley, Harry’s red-haired greatest good friend with an enormous household of fellow wizards.

Once we meet Ron, he is a shy boy with a candy tooth and a knack for chess. That latter ability is very helpful when he joins Harry and Hermione on a seek for the Sorcerer’s Stone.

John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore

John Lithgow elicits respect, concern, and laughter in equal measure, having scored Emmys for 3 very totally different roles — as Winston Churchill on The Crown (2016–2019), the Trinity Killer on Dexter (2009), and Dick Solomon on sitcom third Rock From the Solar (1996–2001). He is additionally a two-time Oscar nominee for turns in The World In keeping with Garp (1982) and Phrases of Endearment (1983).

Lithgow stays a compelling determine on movie and TV, having lately appeared in Oscar-nominated motion pictures like Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and Conclave (2024), in addition to FX’s The Previous Man (2022–2024).

Lithgow performs Albus Dumbledore, the clever Hogwarts headmaster and founding father of the Order of the Phoenix. Richard Harris initially portrayed Dumbledore within the first two Harry Potter movies. After his demise in 2002, Michael Gambon stepped into the function. Jude Legislation later performed a youthful model of the character within the Implausible Beasts franchise.

Lithgow opened up concerning the function on a latest episode of the Smartless podcast. “, Dumbledore, he is type of this nuclear weapon,” Lithgow stated. “He solely goes off very, very often. And I do not assume it is gonna be that arduous a job.”

The 79-year-old Lithgow went on to say that enjoying Dumbledore throughout seven or eight years is “an exquisite approach to develop outdated as an actor,” including, “I imply, the choice is to simply be hauled out every year to play an Alzheimer’s affected person [with] an terrible lot of weeping middle-aged youngsters, you already know.”

Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape

British actor Paapa Essiedu minimize his enamel with the Royal Shakespeare Firm and located success on the small display reverse Michaela Coel on the BBC’s I Might Destroy You (2020).

He acquired Emmy and British Academy Tv Award nominations for his efficiency, and went on to seem in sequence like Gangs of London (2020–2022), Black Mirror (2023), and Black Doves (2024) in addition to the movies Males (2022) and The Outrun (2024).

Essiedu will play Severus Snape, the Slytherin anti-hero famously performed by the late Alan Rickman. In a word to Rickman, Rowling known as Snape “my most advanced character.”

It will likely be fascinating to see how Essiedu’s Snape manifests on this telling, because the actor will come into the function realizing his full arc.

Rickman, who was given a key piece of details about the character by Rowling earlier than the remainder of the solid, typically spoke about how that helped form his efficiency, telling the Los Angeles Instances in 2011, “I used to be at all times conscious of my place within the story whilst others round me weren’t.”

Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall

Janet McTeer is the recipient of a Golden Globe, a Tony, and an Olivier Award, in addition to two Oscar nominations for her work in Tumbleweeds (1999) and Albert Nobbs (2011). Her different notable credit embrace the movies Velvet Goldmine (1998), Maleficent (2014), and The Menu (2022), in addition to sequence like Jessica Jones (2018) and Ozark (2018–2020).

This yr, you’ll be able to see her on the Paramount+ sequence MobLand and sprinting alongside Tom Cruise within the upcoming Mission: Unimaginable — The Ultimate Reckoning.

McTeer performs Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts professor and head of Gryffindor Home. The character is as loyal as she is strict, serving as a mentor whereas instilling a wholesome concern in her college students.

Maggie Smith portrayed the character within the movie franchise, whereas Fiona Glascott performed a younger Minerva within the Implausible Beasts movies.

Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid

Nick Frost got here up alongside his pal Simon Pegg on the comedy sequence Spaced (1999–2001) earlier than showing in movies like Shaun of the Lifeless (2004), Scorching Fuzz (2007), and The World’s Finish (2013). He lately voiced droid SM-33 on the Star Wars sequence Skeleton Crew (2024–current), and can subsequent seem in Disney’s live-action remake of Easy methods to Practice Your Dragon.

The half-giant Hagrid is among the many first characters we meet within the Harry Potter universe. A Hogwarts groundskeeper with a flowing brown beard, Hagrid was beforehand performed by Robbie Coltrane, who died in 2022.

Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell

Luke Thallon is a relative newcomer to the display, with solely a few small credit to his title. That stated, he acquired rave evaluations for his flip as Hamlet within the Royal Shakespeare Firm’s 2025 manufacturing.

He’ll play Defence Towards the Darkish Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell, a key function in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The function was portrayed by Ian Hart within the movie franchise.

Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch

BAFTA-winning performer Paul Whitehouse was a star and co-creator of the BBC comedy sequence The Quick Present (1994–1997), in addition to a collaborator with fashionable comic Harry Enfield. He is additionally appeared in a number of fashionable movies, together with Corpse Bride (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and The Loss of life of Stalin (2017).

Apparently, Whitehouse beforehand performed a job within the Harry Potter movie franchise, having shot materials for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that did not make the ultimate minimize. He performed Sir Cadogan, a knight who seems in a portray in Hogwarts’ Divination hall.

Within the Harry Potter TV sequence, Whitehouse will play Argus Filch, the feline-loving caretaker of Hogwarts. David Bradley performed the function initially.