Nicholas Hoult Cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s Harry Potter Season 2

Nicholas Hoult has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s Harry Potter Season 2, joining the expanding ensemble of the streaming adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s novels.

The English actor will portray the vain, fame-obsessed Defence Against the Dark Arts professor from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a role previously played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film.

The casting comes as the series prepares its Season 1 debut on Dec. 25 and readies Season 2 for a fall filming start.

Hoult Steps Into Lockhart’s Robes

Lockhart is described as a notoriously boastful wizard well-versed in Memory Charms, a five-time winner of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award who authored many books on dark creatures and his supposed encounters with them.

The character is renowned in the wizarding world for his many heroic deeds, though he is later revealed as a fraud who took credit for the acts of others after erasing part of their memories.

He is recruited by Dumbledore as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

The role continues a run of high-profile antagonist and antihero casting for Hoult.

He originated Lex Luthor in 2025’s Superman and is set to reprise the role in the sequel Man of Tomorrow in 2027.

He previously played Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast across four X-Men films beginning with 2011’s First Class.

His other film credits include Mad Max: Fury Road, Nosferatu, Juror #2, The Menu and Renfield.

On television, he starred in the Hulu series The Great, earning an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations.

His career began with 2002’s About a Boy opposite Hugh Grant and the UK teen drama Skins.

He is repped by UTA, 42, and Sloane Offer.

Series Details and Production Timeline

Greenlit in May, Season 2 is scheduled to begin filming this fall, ahead of the Christmas premiere of Season 1, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The series debuts Dec. 25 on HBO and HBO Max.

Dominic McLaughlin stars as the titular Hogwarts wizard.

Alastair Stout plays Harry’s best friend Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton portrays bookworm Hermione Granger.

Key returning cast members include Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, and Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy.

Season 1 is written and executive produced by showrunner Francesca Gardiner.

Mark Mylod serves as executive producer and directed multiple episodes.

Rowling, Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films also executive produce.

The series is produced by HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television.

Jon Brown, a writer on the first season, has been elevated to co-showrunner for Season 2 alongside Gardiner.

The casting positions Hoult as a distinctive addition to a Hogwarts faculty lineup that already includes Lithgow, McTeer, Essiedu, and Frost.

Lockhart’s screen time in Chamber of Secrets is concentrated, but the character is pivotal to the novel’s central mystery.

The season’s expanded episode format under HBO’s adaptation model provides room for the character’s vanity, self-mythology, and eventual unraveling to play out in greater detail than Branagh’s film portrayal allowed.

The role draws on Hoult’s established range — comic timing from The Menu and The Great alongside the menace he brought to Luthor — making him a natural fit for a wizard whose greatest weapon is his own reflection.

Sources

• Deadline