Kit Harington joins Harry Potter as Gilderoy Lockhart after Nicholas Hoult exits season two of the series due to scheduling conflicts.
- An unexpected change at Hogwarts. Nicholas Hoult had been announced to play the flamboyant professor, but the ‘Game of Thrones’ star will now take over the role.
The second season of ‘Harry Potter’ has just undergone one of its first major casting changes. Only weeks after it was announced that Nicholas Hoult had been chosen to play Gilderoy Lockhart, the actor has reportedly left the project due to scheduling conflicts. His replacement has already been found: Kit Harington.
According to Variety, Harington will take on the role of Hogwarts’ new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in the season based on ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, bringing to the screen one of the most eccentric — and frustrating — characters Harry encounters during his early years at the wizarding school.
The casting also represents an intriguing return to the universe created by J.K. Rowling, as Harington has already voiced Gilderoy Lockhart in the new Harry Potter audiobooks. He will now have the opportunity to portray the character physically in the television adaptation.
The switch from Nicholas Hoult to Kit Harington is particularly striking because of how quickly it has happened. Hoult was confirmed for the role at the beginning of August, but his existing professional commitments have reportedly made it impossible to coordinate his schedule with filming for the second season.
Harington therefore arrives at Hogwarts after becoming an international star as Jon Snow in ‘Game of Thrones’, another major production closely associated with HBO. His addition also provides another indication of the studio’s ambition to continue bringing established names into the adult roles within the magical universe.
Lockhart was originally played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’. The character arrives at Hogwarts with an enormous reputation as a bestselling author and supposed expert on dangerous magical creatures, as well as a personality that is every bit as charismatic as it is deeply narcissistic.
Without revealing too many spoilers for viewers discovering the story for the first time, his time at Hogwarts is relatively brief. Lockhart does not return as a major character in the subsequent instalments, although he makes a small appearance later in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’.
The fact that Kit Harington already knows the character through the audiobooks makes his casting more intriguing than a straightforward last-minute replacement. The actor has already had to explore Lockhart’s personality, distinctive manner and extraordinary ego before stepping in front of the cameras.
That previous experience could provide Harington with an unusual advantage when translating the character from an audio performance to live action. Lockhart requires a careful balance between charm, theatrical confidence and self-importance, qualities that make him one of the most memorable new arrivals during Harry’s second year.
For now, no further details have been revealed about whether the casting change will affect the production schedule for ‘Harry Potter’ season two. The replacement nevertheless settles one important question surrounding the next chapter of the television adaptation.
One of the most notoriously hazardous jobs at Hogwarts now has its new occupant: Nicholas Hoult is out and Kit Harington is officially swapping the North for the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
