Highlights
- Kit Harington has spoken for the first time about taking over as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter series.
- The Game of Thrones star called the role "a real dream" and said Lockhart is one of his favourite characters.
- Harington has already voiced Lockhart in the Harry Potter audiobooks, but says his television performance will be different.
Kit Harington has finally addressed his surprise move into the Harry Potter universe, and he sounds considerably more excited about it than some of the fans reacting online.
The actor has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in season two of HBO's Harry Potter series, replacing Nicholas Hoult after the Superman star left the role because of scheduling conflicts.
Speaking to Collider shortly after the casting news broke, Harington said he was "thrilled" to be taking on the role.
"I've said a million times, for anyone who cares, that I'm a huge Potter fan," he said. "I've got to be honest, he's one of my favourite characters. So, to be offered to play him is a real dream. I think he's going to be so fun."
That enthusiasm is notable because Harington is not simply joining the franchise as an outsider. He already has a history with the character.
He's already played Gilderoy Lockhart
Harington has previously voiced Lockhart in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, including Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That means he has already had the chance to work out how he wants to approach Hogwarts' famously self-obsessed teacher.
But audiences should not expect him to simply transfer that performance to television.
Harington specifically stressed that his live-action version will be different.
"I got to play him in the audiobooks," he said. "That's not the exact way I'll play him in the show because it's an audiobook, but I've had a taste of him and felt my way around him. He's just a wonderful creation."
That could be one of the more intriguing parts of the casting. Fans already have one version of Harington's Lockhart in audio, while his television performance gives him the opportunity to build the character visually and physically.
From Jon Snow to Hogwarts' biggest show-off
The casting also gives Harington a chance to move dramatically away from the role that made him famous.
For years, audiences knew him primarily as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, a character associated with brooding intensity, duty and reluctant heroism. Lockhart could hardly be further removed from that image.
The Hogwarts professor is famous for his carefully cultivated reputation, his supposed heroic achievements and his appetite for attention. Kenneth Branagh previously played the character in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Harington has already described Lockhart as one of his favourite characters, suggesting he is embracing the opportunity to play something considerably lighter and more theatrical.
Fans will have to wait to see his version
Harington's Lockhart will not appear in the first season of the new series.
Season one will adapt Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. The first season is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max on December 25, 2026.
Lockhart arrives in season two, which will adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Production on the second season is expected to begin this autumn.
For now, Harington has given fans something more interesting than another casting announcement: a first glimpse at just how much he wants the role.
And if his promise that this will not be the same Lockhart from the audiobooks is anything to go by, his version of the Hogwarts professor may have a few surprises of its own.
