Ahead of its streaming debut in December, HBO's Harry Potter series has cast Peter Serafinowicz as Peeves the Poltergeist. Serafinowicz is well-known for his genre roles, regarded for voicing villain Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. He also appeared in the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy. More recently, he starred in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie. Fans may recognize him as the voice of Big Daddy in Sing and Sing 2.
His casting in HBO's Harry Potter is a particularly interesting one. Of course, the series seeks to adapt the original novels with more depth than ever before. This time, the books are being serialised into a TV series, therefore not burdened by the limited runtime of movies. While the movies were beloved by millions, as adaptations they heavily condensed the source material, and that meant some big omissions. One of which was Peeves the Poltegeist, a ghost who haunts the corridors of Hogwarts. He's one of the longest-standing residents of the school — even if he's spent the most of his tenure as a ghost.
Peeves is a fan-favorite in the books, and has since appeared in the Hogwarts Legacy video game.
EXCLUSIVE: Peter Serafinowicz has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist in HBO’s “Harry Potter” series.
— Variety (@Variety) June 15, 2026
The character, a cheeky ghost known for causing trouble in the Hogwarts halls, is a fan-favorite who didn’t appear in any of the original “Harry Potter” movies.… pic.twitter.com/fPJPGxME97
Peeves was previously cast in the original Harry Potter movies, but didn't make the cut
Funnily enough, Peeves was cast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), with the late comedian Rik Mayall (Blackadder) actually filming scenes. “I did a little bit of filming then I went home and got the money – significant – then a month later they said ‘Rik, sorry about this, you’re not in the film,’” Mayall said in a past interview, per Variety. As well as the hefty payout, Mayall still got to reap the benefits of starring in the movie, getting tickets to the premiere event — although he did offer the tickets to his children since he was busy working. “I hadn’t told my kids I wasn’t in it yet. And they came back and said ‘It’s bloody good make-up. You didn’t look like yourself at all, dad, it’s really good’ — they thought I was playing Hagrid.” (Hagrid, of course, was played by the late, great Robbie Coltrane.)
Director Chris Columbus ultimately cut the character from the movie for a few reasons, notably because he didn't like the visual effects and due to his scenes killing the pace of the movie. The original Peeves scenes have never been made public, but they may well stiill be stored on a hard drive somewhere!
HBO's Harry Potter lands on HBO Max on Christmas Day 2026.
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