Harry Potter TV series confirms Superman star Nicholas Hoult for Gilderoy Lockhart role in season 2

Nicholas Hoult (Superman) will take on the role of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, the charismatic but ultimately fraudulent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, in the second instalment of the series.

Lockhart is a central character in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second entry in JK Rowling's series of books upon which season 2 will largely be based.

Kenneth Branagh previously played the role in the 2002 Chamber of Secrets film.

The HBO series was given an early season two renewal in May, prior to a single episode of the first show being released. Production is set to resume in the autumn.

Season 1 is set to premiere on 25 December, with Dominic McLaughlin playing Harry, Arabella Stanton starring as Hermione and Alastair Stout appearing as Ron.

The upcoming season will also star the likes of Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid) and Bel Powley (Petunia Dursley).

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has faced backlash in some quarters due to her views on transgender rights.

In 2020, she published a lengthy statement detailing her stance on sex and gender debates – the essay was criticised and disputed by LGBTQ+ charities including Stonewall.

Rowling has also shared her views on social media, including in a 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which she insisted that "there are no trans kids" and opposed the idea that a child can be "born in the wrong body".

In May 2025, Rowling set up the JK Rowling Women's Fund, which describes itself as offering legal funding support to "individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights".

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Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, have distanced themselves from Rowling's views and have issued statements supporting the transgender community.

Others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Jim Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.

Read more:

• Harry Potter TV series star speaks out on JK Rowling's views: "I strongly disagree"
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Authors

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.