Nicholas Hoult is adding another iconic villain to his growing list of roles.
After playing Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman, the actor has reportedly been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series.
According to Deadline, the 36-year-old actor will play the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in the show’s second season, which will adapt the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Gilderoy Lockhart was previously played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
In the story, Lockhart is a vain, boastful and fame-obsessed wizard who becomes the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts during Harry’s second year.
Despite his reputation as a celebrated wizard, Lockhart is more interested in his public image than teaching.
He has won Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award five times and has written several books about his supposed encounters with dangerous magical creatures.
Hoult is best known for playing Hank McCoy, aka Beast, in the X-Men prequel films. He recently took on the role of Lex Luthor opposite David Corenswet in Superman.
The Harry Potter series will mark another major television role for the English actor following Skins and Hulu’s The Great, for which he received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
HBO’s reboot will adapt all seven of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels across seven planned seasons.
The story follows Harry, who discovers at the age of 11 that he is a wizard before beginning his education at Hogwarts.
Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton will play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively.
The series also stars Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall.
The first season is scheduled to premiere on 25 December, 2026.
