Kit Harington says 'Yes, please!' to playing Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter

Kit Harington is joining HBO's Harry Potter series as Gilderoy Lockhart.

He confirmed the news on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, in the episode 'Kit Harington on A TALE OF TWO CITIES, HARRY POTTER, GAME OF THRONES, & more!' published on 21 September. He steps in for Nicholas Hoult, who left the role because of scheduling conflicts, when other work commitments clash with shoot dates, as reported by Variety.

His answer was instant. Harington said saying yes was "a very simple, 'Yes, please!'" He described himself as "a bit of a nerd" about Harry Potter. He also revealed his Hogwarts house, the in-story school teams fans are sorted into, is Gryffindor.

That love runs into bedtime. Harington said he listens to the Harry Potter audiobooks read by actor Stephen Fry every night to fall asleep. Fry's readings are his favourite night-time company. It is a small detail, but it tells you this was not a hard sell.

He already knew Lockhart's voice. Harington voiced the character for Audible's Harry Potter audiobooks, which are sound-only versions of the books, before he was cast in the television series. He goes from speaking the part in a recording booth to playing him on screen. In television terms, it is a direct move from audio to live action.

What makes this stand out is the path. He learned Lockhart in sound first. Now he gets to put a face to that voice for television viewers. It is a straight handover from headphones to Hogwarts.

For fans, this means a short wait with a familiar sound. Lockhart will first appear in Season 2 of the HBO series, meaning the second batch of episodes made and released together. Cameras on that second season were already rolling when Harington spoke to Horowitz. The show films at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, the large studio base in England where the production is housed.

The switch was first reported in late August. Reuters reported on 25 August that Harington would replace Hoult as Lockhart, a day after an initial trade report. Harington's chat on Happy Sad Confused is his first long-form account of how it happened.

He did not sound torn. A self-declared nerd, a nightly listener, and now the man with the wand in Season 2. Production continues, and his arrival fills a gap left open by a crowded calendar.