Nicholas Hoult will no longer star as Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potterseries, with Kit Harington named as the replacement.
The casting for HBO’s season two of Harry Potter has been reshuffled after uproar from fans and LGBTQ+ campaigners.
Hoult was set to play Professor Lockhart in the upcoming season, but some fans were left dismayed by the actor’s decision due to author JK Rowling’s views on gender described as transphobic, which the Potter creator has denied.
After Hoult stepped down, the Game of Thrones star was named as his replacement to play the eccentric wizard, Variety reports.
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 a 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 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.
