Ralph Fiennes did an amazing job of playing Voldemort in the four Harry Potter movies in which he appeared, so much so that it's going to be a gargantuan task trying to replace him for the HBO series. However, that is what's on the way to happening. As Deadline has reported today, Invasion star Billy Barratt will be playing Tom Riddle in Harry Potter season 2, which will once more adapt the Chamber of Secrets novel.
Shown in the second Harry Potter movie (and book) through a series of magical flashbacks and a memory stored in a diary/Horcrux, Tom Riddle is Voldemort in the years before he became the most fearsome figure the Wizarding World has ever known. So, even though Barratt won't be playing Voldemort during his later, much more evil years, he's still one of the first actors to embody any version of the character in live-action since Fiennes did so in 2011's Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
HBO has filled three high-profile roles for Season 2 of its 'Harry Potter' series.
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 4, 2026
'Invasion's Billy Barratt, who holds the record as the youngest International Emmy winner, has been cast as young Voldemort, Tom Riddle
See all the castings here: https://t.co/jn6M6fnSh6 pic.twitter.com/UKauzVMyW2
Billy Barratt probably won't be the first (or last) actor to play Voldemort in the HBO reboot
Voldemort, as he was more commonly portrayed in the Harry Potter movies, didn't appear until 2005's Goblet of Fire. He still had an important role in the story before then, but he was played by other actors. In the first movie, he was voiced by Quirrell actor Ian Hart, which made sense given that Voldemort was little more than a parasite attached to the professor during that era. My guess is that the new Quirrell actor, Luke Thallon, will have a similar dual role. After Hart's character(s) died, Christian Coulson then took over the role of Voldemort for Chamber of Secrets, stepping into the shoes of Tom Riddle as Barrett is about to do.
Voldemort is absent from Prisoner of Azkaban, but his return in Goblet of Fire required an older actor. He wasn't a Hogwarts student anymore, after all. Plus, he'd undergone a magical resurrection that transformed his physical appearance. That's where Fiennes came in. So, regardless of how good Barrett will be as Tom Riddle, it stands to reason that he will also only appear in the Chamber of Secrets adaptation for season 2, and that an older actor will be chosen to play Voldemort in future seasons.
HBO has announced two more Harry Potter season 2 castings
After the unexpected exit of Gracie Cochrane as Ginny Weasley after season 1 wrapped, HBO started looking for her replacement. They've now found her in the form of Bonnie Hill (Girl Troop vs Aliens). As the one who initially finds Tom Riddle's diary in Chamber of Secrets, Hill will have much more to do in season 2 than Cochrane presumably did in season 1. After all, Ginny didn't start at Hogwarts until the year after Harry.
Another important Chamber of Secrets character has also been cast. I know him best as Morris Gibbons from Doctor Who, but the 17-year-old Lenny Rush already has an impressive number of acting credits to his name. He'll be playing Dobby. Because Rush is an actor with dwarfism, this opens the door for Dobby to be portrayed via prosthetics, rather than CGI as the original movies did. That hasn't yet been confirmed, though.
In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing how all these Harry Potter newcomers do when season 2 eventually drops.
Harry Potter season 1 premieres on HBO this December 25.
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