HBO's Harry Potter Series Is Zeroing In On Its Hagrid

Summary

John Lithgow is confirmed as Dumbledore; Nick Frost might play Hagrid in the HBO Max Harry Potter series.
Frost’s social media activity hints at his involvement; fans speculate on cast additions.
The series aims for a 2026 release date, bringing new portrayals to familiar Harry Potter characters.

Steam seems to be picking up at quite the pace for the HBO Max Harry Potter series. There have been a ton of different rumors and discussions about who should play the small screen version of the characters that were made so beloved in the Harry Potter books and movie series. Some of those rumors have turned out to be true while others have fallen by the wayside. For now at least, one more rumor has popped up in the form of which actor has been tapped to play Hagrid the beloved Gamewarden, who is like an adopted lunkhead of an uncle to Harry in the films.

While there still doesn’t appear to be any indication that the showrunners are remotely close to picking who will play Harry, Ron, or Hermione, the series has finally landed on the actor to embody Dumbledore on the streaming platform. There were several other actors that were first rumored to be getting the part but in the end John Lithgow won out. At the moment, he’s one of the only confirmed actors to be cast, however a new rumor believes the series might have landed on the man to play Hagrid as well.

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Harry Potter Series Reportedly Lands On Comedic Actor For Hagrid

Deadline recently reported that the latest major piece of the puzzle appears to be British actor-comedian Nick Frost, who is nearing a deal to play Rubeus Hagrid. If the report is true, it would mean that he’d join John Lithgow, Janet McTeer and Paapa Essiedu who are said to be cast as Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall and Professor Severus Snape respectively. However, as has been the case with most of these reports, HBO is unwilling to confirm this new report: “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”

“We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”

Despite HBO not commenting, the clues that Frost could play Hagrid have been gathering for a few weeks now. It started with a short and sweet Reddit post that first claimed the Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead star he’d been cast. That post didn’t offer many more details but it was posted the same day that Frost made a cryptic post on his Instagram page saying, “What a bloody lovely day! It’s happening, it’s actually happening. Stay cool.”

Internet sleuths also discovered that Frost is now following Harry Potter cast members such as Lithgow and Essiedu on the social media platform. All of those things all happening just days ahead of this report would certainly seem to indicate that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.Frost is an accomplished British actor who is best known for starring in theCornetto trilogy that featured Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. The three films all feature Frost and Simon Pegg in main roles. While Hagrid isn’t quite as slapstick as those films are, he does lean on some comedic lines. And of course, the reboot series will allow some leeway in redesigning well known characters.

HBO’s Harry Potter series is currently targeting a 2026 release date.