The announcement, carried by Variety and in matching form by Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Comicbook, covers three roles.
Platform naming varies.
New Actors Play Harry’s Parents Closer to Book Age
Spoiler note: Lily and James are killed before the story begins. According to the gravestone seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1,
Harry’s parents were both born in 1960, which is a detail the film got wrong relative to the books’ 1990s setting.
The film parents were played by Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somerville, TVLine notes. The A.V. Club says the actors who played James and Lily in the original films were in their 30s and 40s, and that Talbot and Chinn seem closer to the characters’ book ages.
How large the roles will be is unclear. Deadline says it is unknown how big a part the parents will play, noting they appeared little in the films. TheWrap notes Harry sees them in the Mirror of Erised, which it calls crucial to his fight against Voldemort.
Harry Potter HBO series casts the roles of the titular wizard's parents James and Lily Potter as Charlie Weasley makes his character screen debut https://t.co/ZgRLQ0GmpL
Deadline also recounts the night the parents died: Voldemort’s curse bounced off Harry and struck the dark wizard himself, leaving him without a physical form and with little power. Slashfilm adds that the killings happened when Harry was one year old, roughly a decade before the main story starts.
Charlie Weasley Gets the Screen Time the Films Denied
Charlie is the second-eldest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, per Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. Variety says he is a minor book character who doesn’t appear in the films, so the series departs from them. TVLine says he shows up only in a family photo. Slashfilm and TheWrap describe him as working with dragons in Romania.
‘Harry Potter’ HBO Series Casts James Potter and Lily Potter, Plus Charlie Weasley in Character's Screen Debut https://t.co/xDyQgJ3v8f
Slashfilm says he was cut from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
the US title of the film that most territories released as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
That also kept him out of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,
where, per Comicbook, he first appears in person in the books.
Comicbook adds that he returns to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. It lists Peregrine Derrick, Nicolas Flamel, Perenelle Flamel, Professor Binns and Peeves as other characters the films dropped. Variety’s cast list already includes Richard Durden as Cuthbert Binns.
Who Joins the Cast, and What Comes Next
Gilby is represented by Independent Talent Group and Untitled Entertainment, Talbot by United Agents and Chinn by 42, according to TheWrap. On the fan-casting site myCast, Gilby has been suggested for 309 roles, and his most popular was James Potter in a Marauders fan story, with 27 votes. Chinn has been suggested for 3.
Supporting players include Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick and Beertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge.
HBO's Harry Potter TV series has cast Charlie Weasley along with James and Lily Potter, all of which points to some big changes from the Harry Potter films. https://t.co/tUGdxTQl5y
Francesca Gardiner writes and executive produces; Mark Mylod executive produces and directs multiple episodes, per Variety. The series is also executive produced by J.K.
Season 1 arrives Dec. 25. Season 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
is filming at Leavesden Studios outside London, Variety reports, and TVLine says HBO renewed the show in May. Slashfilm notes the Voldemort casting remains a secret.
The magical family is growing. Please welcome Harry Gilby as Charlie Weasley, Jasper Talbot as Lily Potter to Season 1 of the HBO Original Series Harry Potter.#HarryPotterHBO pic.twitter.com/s1dEBWNpm0
The season’s logline begins: There is nothing special about Harry Potter — or so his Aunt Petunia tells him,
per Variety.