Harry Potter: Our Dream Cast for HBO Max’s Upcoming TV Series
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The hallways of Hogwarts will be bustling on screen once again, and we already know who we’d like to see walking them.
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Following the April announcement that HBO Max has ordered a Harry Potter TV adaptation to series, Team TVLine has conjured its own ideas for who might play some of the franchise’s most iconic characters.
As you’ll notice in our wish list below — which includes a Ted Lasso star, a former Doctor Who leading man and not one, but two Lucifer alumni — we haven’t dream-cast every Harry Potter role, as J.K. Rowling’s novels feature dozens of characters that flit in and out of her fictional world. We’ve also kept our picks to adult roles only; we suspect many of the young Hogwarts students, including Harry, will be played by relative newcomers, and we admit our knowledge of 11-year-old British thespians is limited.
Instead, we’ve made our picks for nearly 20 of Harry Potter‘s adult cast members, many of whom will appear in the show’s first season. (HBO Max has already made a 10-year commitment to its Harry Potter project, so we’ll see some of these other characters down the road.)
Keep scrolling to see all of our Harry Potter dream castings, then drop a comment with your own!
Peter Capaldi as Albus Dumbledore
Previous Credits: Doctor Who, The Musketeers, Big Mouth
Who He’d Succeed: Michael Gambon (who took over for Richard Harris after he passed away in 2002)
Having previously played Doctor Who‘s title character, we’re eager to see Capaldi inhabit another legendary, fantastical role. And we’re confident he would calmly ask Harry if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire.
Dev Patel as Professor Snape
Previous Credits: The Newsroom, Lion, Slumdog Millionaire
Who He’d Succeed: Alan Rickman
Whoever does land the role of Severus Snape will have big shoes to fill: Rickman’s portrayal of the mysterious Potions professor remains beloved, particularly after Rickman’s passing in 2016. But we think Patel, a previous Oscar nominee for Lion, has the magnetism to pull it off — and though HBO Max’s series has been described as a “faithful” adaptation of Rowling’s books, we’d love to see a little more diversity in Hogwarts’ faculty this time around.
Olivia Colman as Professor McGonagall
Previous Credits: The Crown, Heartstopper, Great Expectations
Who She’d Succeed: Maggie Smith
Do we really need to sell anyone on this? There’s no better fit, really, short of Maggie Smith time-warping and playing the role all over again.
Max Minghella as Professor Lupin
Previous Credits: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Mindy Project, The Social Network
Who He’d Succeed: David Thewlis
In some twisted way, The Handmaid’s Tale‘s general dourness has made us curious to see what Minghella could do as Remus Lupin, arguably one of Harry Potter‘s moodiest characters. Here’s hoping he gets a better CGI werewolf counterpart than Thewlis did.
Fisayo Akinade as Professor Quirrell
Previous Credits: Heartstopper, Dangerous Liaisons
Who He’d Succeed: Ian Hart
Akinade has already captivated us in his brief appearances as Heartstopper‘s mild-mannered-yet-effective Mr. Ajayi. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone‘s poor, stuttering Professor Quirrell would be a fascinating next role for the actor.
Michael Sheen as Mad-Eye Moody
Previous Credits: Prodigal Son, Good Omens, Masters of Sex
Who He’d Succeed: Brendan Gleeson
There seems to be no genre Sheen can’t master. The super-serious drama of Masters of Sex? Yup. The lightning-fast comedy of 30 Rock? Also yes. The fantasy of Good Omens? You bet. But if we’re being honest, it was Sheen’s two-season turn as Prodigal Son‘s Martin Whitly, in all of its glorious wildness, that has us convinced he’d be the perfect Mad-Eye.
Tom Ellis as Sirius Black
Previous Credits: Lucifer, Miranda, Rush
Who He’d Succeed: Gary Oldman
If Ellis can make us root for even the Devil himself (and he did!), then he’s the perfect fit for the misunderstood Sirius Black. The only downside? We’d presumably have to wait until Season 3 to see him, when HBO Max’s series likely takes on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Kristian Nairn as Hagrid
Previous Credits: Game of Thrones, Our Flag Means Death
Who He’d Succeed: Robbie Coltrane
Nairn memorably played Game of Thrones‘ beloved Hodor for several years, and we don’t mean to pigeonhole him as gentle giants whose names start with H. But, c’mon: This one just makes sense, right?
Jamie Campbell Bower as Lord Voldemort
Previous Credits: Stranger Things, Will, The Twilight Saga
Who He’d Succeed: Ralph Fiennes
And, uh, not to pigeonhole Bower as one-named “V” villains — he’s best known for his recent turn as Stranger Things‘ terrifying Vecna — but we already know he’s got the command and charisma to play Harry Potter‘s Big Bad. There is one roadblock: He previously appeared as a young Gellert Grindelwald in both the seventh Harry Potter film and its 2018 offshoot Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. But hey, if HBO Max’s Voldemort lacks a nose the same way Fiennes’ version did, then we’ll hardly recognize Bower anyway.
Lesley-Ann Brandt as Bellatrix Lestrange
Previous Credits: Lucifer, The Librarians, Spartacus
Who She’d Succeed: Helena Bonham Carter
Brandt’s many years of sarcasm and sauntering as Lucifer‘s Mazikeen — sorry, Mazi-queen — make her more than qualified to raise some hell for Harry & Co. as the villainous Death Eater.
Hannah Waddingham as Narcissa Malfoy
Previous Credits: Ted Lasso, Sex Education, Krypton
Who She’d Succeed: Helen McCrory
It’s not just Waddingham’s enchanting, Emmy-winning work as Ted Lasso‘s Rebecca that makes us want to see her play Draco Malfoy’s complicated mother: It was also her all-too-brief appearance as a witch in Disney+’s Hocus Pocus sequel last year. Get this woman back in a cloak, please!
Tom Mison as Lucius Malfoy
Previous Credits: Sleepy Hollow, Watchmen, See
Who He’d Succeed: Jason Isaacs
Mison’s recent TV work has shown quite a bit of versatility, and we’re having fun picturing him in full-villain mode as Draco Malfoy’s dastardly father. Plus, paired with Waddingham as Narcissa? Now we’re truly all in on this fantasy.
Lucy Davis as Aunt Petunia
Previous Credits: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Better Things, The Office (U.K.)
Who She’d Succeed: Fiona Shaw
Aunt Petunia’s harsh, cold demeanor would be quite the pivot from Aunt Hilda, who Davis played on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina — and that’s exactly why we’d love to see her tackle the role. A veteran of British TV and film (The Office! Shaun of the Dead!), the actress would no doubt bring a memorable (and likely quite funny) interpretation to Harry’s reluctant caretaker.
Matt Lucas as Uncle Vernon
Previous Credits: Little Britain, Doctor Who, Bridesmaids
Who He’d Succeed: Richard Griffiths
From Les Misérables‘ Thénardier to Alice in Wonderland‘s Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Lucas has lots of experience playing nefarious oddballs. We just know he’d nail Uncle Vernon’s sad cruelty… which we promise is a compliment!
Asa Butterfield as James Potter
Previous Credits: Sex Education, Ender’s Game, Hugo
Who He’d Succeed: Adrian Rawlins
The film adaptations of Harry Potter seemed to forget that Harry’s parents, James and Lily, were only 21 years old when they died at Lord Voldemort’s hand. Butterfield, who’s currently 26, would be an age-appropriate pick for James’ appearances throughout the series.
Lucy Boynton as Lily Potter
Previous Credits: The Politician, The Ipcress File, Bohemian Rhapsody
Who She’d Succeed: Geraldine Somerville
In a fun bit of trivia, Boynton’s first credit was the 2006 film Miss Potter (though the young Beatrix Potter that she played is, of course, unrelated to the wizards). Now 29, Boynton certainly looks the part of Harry Potter’s gone-too-soon mother — including the piercing eyes that Harry inherits from her.
Andy Serkis as Argus Filch
Previous Credits: Andor, Black Panther, The Lord of the Rings
Who He’d Succeed: David Bradley
Serkis’ recent turn as Andor‘s Kino Loy only made us want to see him in more live-action television projects. He seems a perfect fit for Hogwarts’ curmudgeonly caretaker — and an ideal cat dad to Mrs. Norris.
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