Kit Harington has already stepped into the Wizarding World as Gilderoy Lockhart in the new Harry Potter full‑cast audiobooks, but he’s not stopping there. The former Jon Snow actor says he’d “love” to appear in HBO’s upcoming live‑action Harry Potter series in any capacity—even if that means hiding in the back of a scene.
Quick read:
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Harington says he’d “take on any” role in the new Harry Potter series and would even be happy as “a background extra.”
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He calls himself a lifelong Harry Potter book nerd and listens to the Stephen Fry audiobooks every night.
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Despite voicing Lockhart, he has no interest in a Game of Thrones audiobook after a decade as Jon Snow.
A lifelong book nerd who’d take any role
Harington describes himself as a “big book nerd” who first fell in love with Harry Potter through the novels, discovering them at age 11 and later rediscovering them as an adult through Stephen Fry’s audiobooks, which he still listens to as a nightly ritual. That long‑standing affection is part of why voicing Lockhart in Audible’s Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix was an easy yes. Asked who he’d want to play in HBO’s new series, he didn’t pitch a specific character or demand a big role—instead, he said he’d happily “take on any of them” and would be fine just turning up as “a background extra,” adding that he “would love to be in that.”
It’s a strikingly low‑ego answer from someone who fronted one of the biggest TV shows of all time, and it underlines how much the Harry Potter world still means to him personally. Harington even joked that he had wondered why he’d been cast as Lockhart in particular, but ultimately decided not to question it too much because the character is such a fun, theatrical cameo to play.
Credits: HBO
Lockhart now, Hogwarts later?
In the same interview, Harington explained that taking on Lockhart required very little research because he knows the books “like the back of [his] hand” and feels that there’s “a little part of Lockhart in all of us”—and “more than a little bit” in himself. He leaned into the character’s hubris and delusion, treating him as a fable for people in the creative arts about getting ahead of yourself and worrying that everyone might be laughing at you behind your back.
Interestingly, while he’s enthusiastic about more Harry Potter work, Harington drew a firm line at returning to Game of Thrones in audio form, saying he doesn’t want to go anywhere near a Thrones audiobook after spending ten years as Jon Snow. That contrast makes his eagerness to show up at Hogwarts—whether as Lockhart again or just a blink‑and‑you’ll‑miss‑him extra—all the more telling. If the new series wants built‑in fantasy credibility and a genuine book‑lover on set, it sounds like one very famous former King in the North is already waiting for the owl.
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