Nicholas Hoult Cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter Series

Nicholas Hoult, known for roles in X-Men, Superman, and Mad Max: Fury Road, has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter TV series. The 36-year-old English actor will appear in season two, which is expected to air after the first season launches on December 25 on HBO Max. Lockhart, a celebrity author of books like Magical Me, becomes the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts in Harry's second year. HBO announced the casting with a quote from Lockhart's autobiography. Hoult joins a cast that includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Daniel Rigby and Bel Powley as the Dursleys, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, and Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick. The central trio will be played by newcomers Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), and Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley). Hoult's career includes roles in About a Boy, Skins, four X-Men films, The Great, Nosferatu, and a biopic of J.R.R. Tolkien. The series is expected to span a decade, adapting J.K. Rowling's seven books, originally published between 1997 and 2007 and adapted into eight films from 2001 to 2011. Rowling's views on gender identity have sparked debate, and cast members have been asked about their stance; Bel Powley recently told the Telegraph she 'strongly disagrees' with the author.