More Casting for HBO’s “Harry Potter,” Including Molly Weasley, Draco and Lucius Malfoy, and Various Hogwarts Students
The casting announcements for HBO’s highly anticipated Harry Potter TV show are steadily being revealed, with the latest one introducing nine more actors, for the roles of Molly Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Seamus Finnigan, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Cornelius Fudge.
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Everyone’s favorite wizarding mother, Molly Weasley, will be portrayed by BAFTA-winning actress Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Humans).
The Malfoy family is also stepping into the spotlight, with Lox Pratt taking on the role of Draco Malfoy and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick, Stardust, Ripley) to portray his father, Lucius Malfoy.
Over in Gryffindor Tower, Leo Earley joins the cast as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, and Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown.
Meanwhile in the Muggle world, Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl, The Morning Show) brings her talent to the role of Petunia Dursley, joining BAFTA winner Daniel Rigby (Eric & Ernie, Renegade Nell) as Vernon Dursley.
Last but not least, the Ministry of Magic has a new leader: Acclaimed stage actor Bertie Carvel (Matilda the Musical, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Doctor Foster) will step into the role of Cornelius Fudge.
As exciting as these casting announcements are, there are some intriguing details that have us raising our eyebrows and questioning what they might mean. Firstly, Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge do not appear in the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; they both make their first appearance in the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Their casting for what has been described by HBO as a “faithful adaptation” of the books raises questions. Will the TV series incorporate these characters into the first season, meaning they appear earlier than in J.K. Rowling’s original timeline, or is this casting simply early groundwork in preparation for later seasons? If it’s the former, the series might be taking some creative liberties.
If the show does remain true to the books and Lucius and Fudge don’t appear until Season 2, it seems questionable to announce casting for future seasons when the first one hasn’t even aired yet, since holding back major casting reveals could build anticipation for later seasons.
A second observation is that Daniel Rigby, the actor cast as Vernon Dursley, does not physically resemble the heavyset version of the character from the books, who is described in Sorcerer’s Stone as “a big, beefy man with hardly any neck.” This casting raises a question about how the show intends to handle this aspect of the character’s physical appearance. Are they aiming to avoid outdated and problematic portrayals of weight, or will a fat suit be involved?
These nine newcomers to the wizarding world join the rest of the already announced cast, including the main trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as six Hogwarts professors and staff members, including John Lithgow as Professor Dumbledore and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall.
With filming reportedly already begun (per the Sun), you can bet your last Galleon that even more magical casting announcements are just around the corner.
