HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Officially Casts Voldemort
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HBO has confirmed that Billy Barratt will play Tom Riddle, the younger incarnation of Lord Voldemort, in the second season of its Harry Potter television adaptation. He is one of three major new casting additions revealed alongside Lenny Rush as Dobby and Bonnie Hill as Ginny Weasley, marking a significant step towards showing how the franchise's central villain will appear on screen, though the actor playing the adult Voldemort remains unannounced. Riddle is central to the plot of Chamber of Secrets, first appearing as a charming Hogwarts student trapped within an enchanted diary before being revealed as a young Voldemort, whose full name, Tom Marvolo Riddle, famously forms an anagram of "I am Lord Voldemort".
The new additions join a previously confirmed principal cast including Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, alongside John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape and Nick Frost as Hagrid, with Kit Harington also joining as Gilderoy Lockhart. The series is written by Francesca Gardiner, with Mark Mylod executive producing and directing multiple episodes; Season 1 is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Christmas Day, with Season 2 already in development.
- Billy Barratt cast as young Tom Riddle in HBO's Harry Potter Season 2
- Lenny Rush and Bonnie Hill join as Dobby and Ginny Weasley
- Adult Voldemort's actor still not revealed; Season 1 premieres Christmas Day
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Tom Riddle is the teenage version of Lord Voldemort, the villain at the heart of the Harry Potter series, and he plays a central role in the story's second instalment, Chamber of Secrets. In the books and films, Riddle appears as a charming schoolboy trapped inside an enchanted diary long before readers learn he is the young Voldemort, so casting this character is a milestone in bringing the franchise's main antagonist to the screen.
This casting news relates to HBO's new television adaptation of the Harry Potter novels, a series separate from the original film franchise, which is retelling the story with a new young cast. Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout lead the show as Harry, Hermione and Ron, supported by established actors including John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu and Nick Frost in adult roles such as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Hagrid.
The project matters to fans and the television industry because it represents one of the most high-profile literary adaptations in production, with each casting announcement closely watched given the books' enormous global popularity. The first season is expected to launch on HBO and its streaming service around the end of this year, with a second season, which will feature Riddle, already being developed.
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