Nicholas Hoult Is Making His Harry Potter Dreams Come True

Which Hogwarts house would Nicholas Hoult be sorted into? He’s about to find out. The actor has been cast in Season 2 of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, which will adapt the second novel in the book series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Hoult will play Hogwarts’ new professor of the dark arts, Gilderoy Lockhart, a half-blood wizard with a questionable reputation. The character was previously portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the original 2002 film, and primarily has a one-book arc, save for a small appearance in the fifth novel and movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, making it likely that Hoult’s stint on HBO’s TV show will only last for one season.

In a way, Hoult’s casting is a childhood dream come true. He auditioned for the coveted role of Harry Potter in the film series and even had multiple callbacks before it famously went to Daniel Radcliffe. As he told Lily-Rose Depp on Hot Ones Versus, he then tried out for Tom Felton’s role of Draco Malfoy after getting rejected. “I don’t think I got that either,” he said, adding he should have “gradually audition[ed] for every role in Harry Potter until they were like, ‘No.’”

Nearly 25 years later, during a 2024 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he joked that he has another shot at the role thanks to the HBO series. “I think I can probably play 11 still,” he said. “I’ll just walk in with some glasses and a scar on my head and be like, ‘Hey, what’s up.’ Yes, I’m ready to play Harry Potter. I’m just waiting for the phone to ring.”

Since Hoult was apparently too old to play the wizard (preposterous), the new Harry Potter series will see 12-year-old newcomer Dominic McLaughlin step into the titular role as he enrolls in his first year at Hogwarts. He will be joined by Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as his BFFs Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.

Hoult won’t be the show’s only new addition, as Gracie Cochrane, who played Ginny Weasley in the first season, will be recast after she left the series “due to unforeseen circumstances.” HBO’s Harry Potter is set to premiere on Christmas Day, with filming on Season 2 underway.