Nicholas Hoult has one of the most interesting career trajectories I’ve ever seen. From his snippy smartass child role in About a Boy to bad boy Tony Stonem in Skins UK, Hoult has gone on to play key roles in other projects like X-Men: First Class, The Menu, and more recently, Superman as Lex Luthor. Hoult is now fully in his villain era, though, as he’s just been tapped to play Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s Harry Potter.
Via an exclusive story from Deadline, Hoult will play the vain Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in Season 2 of HBO’s Harry Potter adaptation. Lockhart was originally played by Kenneth Branagh, who did a wonderfully smarmy job of portraying the narcissistic professor, though I don’t doubt that Hoult will bring a similar energy to the role. He was great as Lex Luthor, a self-obsessed megalomaniac, so playing Lockhart doesn’t seem like such a jump.
Anyone who’s read the books will know that Lockhart is far more concerned with his looks and public image, rather than actually educating the kids at Hogwarts. He’s known for having swarms of fangirls crowding around him, trying to get him to sign books, and it’ll be fun to see what Hoult is able to bring to the role.
Alongside Hoult, these are the confirmed cast members for the Harry Potter adaptation:
- Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter
- Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley
- Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger
- Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
- John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
- Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
- Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
We’ve also gotten our first trailer for the show, which looks delightfully nostalgic as someone who grew up with the books and movies. This isn’t to say I don’t still feel conflicted about its existence and what its creator stands for, but man, these HBO execs sure do know what they’re doing huh.
Season 1 is set to premiere on HBO Max this Christmas, while Season 2 is set to start filming this fall.
