This week has been a fortunate one for Harry Potter fans, as another slew of casting news has dropped — and it includes some pretty important roles in the wizarding world.
According to Deadline, several characters have been cast in the new Harry Potter TV show, including a huge voice actor. That is none other than David Thelwall, the new voice of the Sorting Hat. Leslie Phillips originally voiced the Sorting Hat, but Threlfall has now taken over the role. It’s one of the first major instances of magic Harry comes across, and it decides where each Hogwarts student is placed.
A fun fact: Threlfall, who works in stage and screen, originally played the role of Frank Gallagher on the U.K. version of Shameless, a series that was brought to the United States and became a smash hit on Showtime.
Thelfall’s casting isn’t the only big news. Several of the iconic ghosts that roam the halls of Hogwarts have been cast as well. This will include Leo Bill as Nearly Headless Nick, Andrew Brooke as the Bloody Baron, and Daniel Fearn as the Fat Friar.
For those who need a refresher, Nearly Headless Nick lived in Gryffindor House, the Bloody Baron in Slytherin House, and the Fat Friar in Hufflepuff House. There’s no word yet on who will play the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw House, but since she plays a decent role later in the Harry Potter books, I wouldn’t be surprised if we heard about her soon.
Leo Bill has appeared in movies like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Cruella. Andrew Brooke has appeared in shows like PhoneShop and movies like Sherlock Holmes. And Daniel Fearn has appeared in Peaky Blinders.
Additionally, we know that Laura Smyth will play The Fat Lady, the legendary painting that grants access to the Gryffindor common room, where the students of that house live. You have to say a password to get past the paintings, and she is pretty much the most iconic one, especially since all three main characters are Gryffindor.
Smyth is an English comedian, so I’m sure you can already tell we’re in for some funny stuff when this show arrives. I can already imagine how she’ll interact with Harry and the gang.
How the Ghosts, the Fat Lady, and the Sorting Hat might impact the story
This is such fun news and so interesting to see as the premiere date for the new show looms closer. I can’t help but wonder how these ghosts will interact with Peeves, since he was cast. Peeves is a character many Harry Potter fans have wanted to see in the franchise for a long time, and he interacts a lot with the Ghosts of Hogwarts because he's a pure poltergeist built on chaos.
He’s also terrified of the Bloody Baron, so I can’t wait to see those scenes. Those two interacting will be golden.
It’s exciting to see actual cast announcements for the ghosts because, in the movies, most of the ghosts seemed forgotten. They had a bigger role in the Harry Potter books, but the movies used them to save time. Now, they don’t need to do that anymore and can fully use their storylines, hopefully.
I hope we get to see Nearly Headless Nick a whole lot more, as he has some pretty funny scenes in the books that we never got to see in the film.
Another fun part is casting a comedian as the Fat Lady. While she did have a few funny moments in the movies, we never really saw just how hilarious she could be, as she was pretty subdued in the first film, and then we barely saw her later on. Casting a comedian means they’re most likely going to lean into that campier side of her — and I am all in for that change.
As for the Sorting Hat, well, we all know how important that piece of enchanted clothing is to the story as a whole, and I’m eager to see that scene where it calls out Harry’s house. I’m sure it will be just as iconic as it was in the movies.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will premiere on Dec. 25, 2026, on HBO Max.
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