Nick Frost lined-up to play Hagrid in ‘Harry Potter’ series for HBO

Posted On March 26, 2025March 26, 2025

Nick Frost is the latest actor to be tied to the HBO Harry Potter series after nearing a deal to play Rubeus Hagrid.

The new series is expected to arrive in 2026, with shooting expected to start in the summer of this year. According to HBO CEO Casey Bloys, the upcoming remake will be a “faithful adaptation” of “each of the iconic books.”

As Hagrid, Frost is set to join previously announced cast members John Lithgow, Janet McTeer and Paapa Essiedu who, according to Deadline, are set or in talks to play Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall, and Professor Severus Snape.

Despite the speculation, HBO is keeping its cards close to its chest, telling Billboard that the “high-profile series” will draw “rumour and speculation,” but it will “only confirm details as we finalise deals.”

Speculation about Frost’s involvement increased last week when he posted a caption on Instagram that read, “It’s happening, it’s actually happening.” While this is far from a confirmation, Frost recently following Lithgow and Essiedu on social media further fuelled the suspicions.

According to Bloyd, the series will span “10 consecutive years” and will explore aspects of the books not previously touched upon in the coveted movie adaptations. Meanwhile, Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two movies, said Bloys and his team “have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book” which is “fantastic”.

Columbus also stated that the HBO reboot was a “spectacular idea” that would benefit from the narrative flexibility that comes with television formats. “There’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film,” the director told People. “Our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long,” he said, adding that he tried to “get as much of the book in as possible.”

He concluded: “You can get all the stuff in the series that we didn’t have an opportunity to do, all these great scenes that we just couldn’t put in the films. I look forward to seeing what they’re trying to do with it. I think it’s great.”

Although full casting has yet to be confirmed, Billboard previously confirmed that over 32,000 children auditioned, making it one of the most sought-after projects of recent times.

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