HBO’s Harry Potter series has filled three key roles for its upcoming second season, giving fans their first look at who will bring Dobby, Tom Riddle, and a new Ginny Weasley to the screen as the show moves into adapting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The castings were first reported by Variety and quickly confirmed by outlets including TVLine and ComicBookMovie.
Billy Barratt, 19, has landed the role of Tom Riddle, the Hogwarts student who is later revealed to be a young Lord Voldemort. Barratt will appear in flashbacks to Riddle’s own time at Hogwarts and in the pivotal sequence where the character confronts Harry beneath the school after being restored through the diary. Barratt won an International Emmy for Best Actor at age 13 for the television movie Responsible Child and has since appeared in Invasion, Kraven the Hunter, Crater, and Bring Her Back. He steps into a role originated on screen by Christian Coulson in the 2002 film adaptation of Chamber of Secrets.
Dobby, the house elf who spends much of the story trying to keep Harry away from Hogwarts, will be played by Lenny Rush. The 17 year old BAFTA winner is known for Doctor Who, Enola Holmes 2, and Am I Being Unreasonable?, and will presumably bring the character to life with the help of visual effects, much like Toby Jones did with his voice work in the films.
The season also introduces a new Ginny Weasley. Bonnie Hill, whose credits include Film Club, The Six Triple Eight, and Girl Troop versus Aliens, takes over the role from Gracie Cochrane, who will still appear as Ginny when season one premieres but will not continue with the character going forward. Cochrane’s family announced her exit back in May, citing unforeseen circumstances and thanking the production in a statement shared at the time: “Her time as part of the Harry Potter world has been truly wonderful, and she is deeply grateful to Lucy Bevan and the entire production team for creating such an unforgettable experience.” Neither HBO nor Cochrane’s family has elaborated further on the reason for her departure, and BroadwayWorld’s coverage of that announcement remains the fullest account of what was said.
Today’s news adds to a run of season two casting activity. Last month, Kit Harington was confirmed as the new Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who exited the role due to scheduling conflicts with other projects. A handful of Chamber of Secrets roles are still uncast, including Aragog, Arthur Weasley, and Moaning Myrtle, so more announcements are likely as production ramps up.
Season one, an adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone starring Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Christmas Day, December 25. HBO renewed the series for a second season, which will adapt Chamber of Secrets, ahead of that premiere, and filming is expected to get underway this fall. No release date for season two has been announced yet.