‘Harry Potter’ HBO Series Casts Sorting Hat, Nearly Headless Nick, and More Hogwarts Ghosts and Portraits
HBO has cast five performers as Hogwarts’ magical residents for the first season of its new Harry Potter series. David Threlfall will voice the Sorting Hat, while Leo Bill, Andrew Brooke and Daniel Fearn will play the ghosts Nearly Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar; Laura Smyth will portray the Fat Lady, whose portrait guards Gryffindor’s entrance.
The season adapts *Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone* and is scheduled to debut on HBO and HBO Max on 25 December. Its previously announced cast includes Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron, alongside John Lithgow as Dumbledore and Nick Frost as Hagrid. Work is also under way on season two, based on *The Chamber of Secrets*.
In short
- Five actors join the first season as Hogwarts ghosts and portraits.
- David Threlfall will voice the Sorting Hat.
- Season one is scheduled to debut on 25 December.
Explained simply
Harry Potter is a fantasy story about a boy who discovers he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, introduces the school and its customs, including the Sorting Hat, which assigns new pupils to one of four houses.
Hogwarts is also home to ghosts and enchanted portraits. Nearly Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar are among its resident ghosts, while the Fat Lady’s portrait guards the entrance to Gryffindor tower. These characters help bring the school’s magical setting to life around Harry and his friends.
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