Nicholas Hoult will no longer star as Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter series, with Kit Harington set to replace him in the role.
The news of Hoult’s casting in the second season of HBO’s Harry Potter adaptation prompted an outcry from his fans earlier this month. Hoult was set to play the conniving but charming Professor Lockhart in the upcoming season, but many fans were dismayed by the actor’s decision given author JK Rowling’s repeated social media attacks on the transgender community.
Fan backlash and exit
As a result, any of the Skins star’s biggest fans, including those with accounts dedicated to charting his successes, announced they would no longer be supporting him.
It has now been reported that Hoult will be exiting the wizarding world due to ‘scheduling conflicts’. Instead, Game of Thrones star Harington has been named as his replacement to play the eccentric wizard, Variety reports.
Harington's connection to the role
Harington, 39, has confessed to being a hardcore Harry Potter fan, who fell in love with the books as a child. He is already familiar with Lockhart’s character after voicing him in Audible’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets audiobook last year.
The Golden Globe nominee told Variety previously that giving his voice to the character was easy. He said: ‘It was a really simple yes, because I love the character.
‘As far as cameos in a series go, you don’t get much more entertaining and fun to do as an actor than Gilderoy Lockhart. It was a no-brainer.’
Filming and release
Filming for the second season of Harry Potter is expected to start this fall, while the first season will come out on HBO and HBO Max on Christmas Day.
