Kit Harington Explains Why He Said Yes to HBO’s Harry Potter

Kit Harington says joining HBO’s Harry Potter series was an easy decision because the books have remained part of his life from childhood into adulthood. The Game of Thrones actor will play Gilderoy Lockhart in the show’s second season, which is expected to adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

A role tied to a lifelong fandom

In recent interviews, Harington described himself as a longtime fan who returned to the novels as an adult. He said he listens to the audiobooks at night and sees the television format as an opportunity to explore more of the material than the films could fit. That connection made his answer straightforward when the role was offered.

Harington’s casting also carries an unusual link to the character. He previously voiced Lockhart in the full-cast Audible edition of Chamber of Secrets, released in December 2025. On screen, he follows Kenneth Branagh, who played the boastful Hogwarts professor in the 2002 movie.

The role originally belonged to Nicholas Hoult. HBO announced Hoult’s casting in August before the production changed course because of scheduling conflicts. Harington was confirmed as his replacement later that month, making the part another major fantasy-franchise turn for an actor still closely associated with Jon Snow.

Season two begins to take shape

Lockhart is central to the second book’s school-year story: a celebrity author whose polished public image and appetite for attention quickly affect life at Hogwarts. Harington’s combination of dramatic experience and dry comic timing gives the adaptation a recognizable performer for one of that installment’s most theatrical roles.

The casting arrives while audiences are still waiting for the first season. HBO’s opening chapter, based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is scheduled to premiere on Christmas Day, with Dominic McLaughlin leading the cast as Harry. That means viewers will meet the series’ core students and teachers before Harington’s Lockhart enters the story.

Harington’s comments do not reveal how his version of Lockhart will differ from previous portrayals, but they clarify why he wanted the job. For an actor who spent years inside one sprawling book-to-television phenomenon, the attraction was not simply another fantasy role. It was the chance to step into a story he already knew intimately as a reader and listener.