Nicholas Hoult has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s forthcoming Harry Potter television adaptation, adding another prominent name to the expanding ensemble. His role matters because Lockhart is a major character in the second book, although Hoult is not expected to appear until the already-confirmed second season.

The first season, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is due to launch on HBO Max on 25 December and is expected to begin a production planned to run for about a decade. Hoult, 36, succeeds Sir Kenneth Branagh in the role and joins a cast including John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Warwick Davis as Flitwick, and newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Harry, Hermione and Ron.