Kit Harington is joining HBO's "Harry Potter" series for its second season, stepping in to play Gilderoy Lockhart after Nicholas Hoult exited the role because of problems with his filming schedule.
HBO had originally cast Hoult as the vain celebrity wizard but tried to work around two other projects already on his calendar. When Lockhart's scenes had to be moved within the production schedule for season two, the change was no longer workable, and Hoult was released from the part. HBO then approached Harington, who was available and said to be enthusiastic about taking on the role.
A role Harington already knows
Although the casting change is a straightforward replacement, Harington is not entirely new to the character. He voiced Gilderoy Lockhart in "Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions," the Audible full-cast audiobooks released late last year.
In a promotional video Audible put out at the time, Harington spoke about having loved the "Harry Potter" books since childhood. He said he was the same age as the famous young wizard when the first novel in J.K. Rowling's series was published.
He recalled reading it and, like so many other readers of his generation, being enchanted by it, adding that he remained a huge fan throughout his teenage years.
Who is Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart is a central character in the second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," and was played by Kenneth Branagh in the second film adaptation. He is a notoriously vain, boastful wizard obsessed with his own fame, though especially skilled with Memory Charms, whom Albus Dumbledore hires as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.
In the same Audible video, Harington said he thought there was a little bit of Gilderoy in all of us, recalling that in the early days of his own rise to fame he may have used his celebrity to talk his way into a club in France.
Season two on the way
HBO's "Harry Potter" series officially received a green light for a second season in May. Filming is expected to begin in the autumn, ahead of the first season's Christmas premiere.
Dominic McLaughlin stars as Harry Potter, with Alastair Stout as his best friend Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. The returning main cast also includes Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall.
