Credit: Warner Bros.HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, which is billed as a more “faithful adaptation” of J. K. Rowling’s seven novels, marks the beginning of a new continuity that’s unrelated to the films.
The same can be said about other relatively new additions to the wider franchise, from video games such as Hogwarts Legacy and Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions to Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions. But that doesn’t mean you won’t recognize plenty of cast members.
Despite all these projects having no narrative connections to the films, several actors have already returned, either reprising their original roles or playing different characters entirely.
In fact, returning actors are fast becoming something of a tradition in the Wizarding World. And you might be surprised by how many have found their way back.
Jamie Campbell Bower — Gellert Grindelwald
Jamie Campbell Bower, who is now best known for playing Henry Creel/Vecna in Netflix’s Stranger Things, was the first actor from the Harry Potter films to return.
Bower first appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) as the young Gellert Grindelwald. The character was later portrayed by Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and by Mads Mikkelsen in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).
However, at the same time, Bower returned once again as a younger Grindelwald in The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Hebe Beardsall — Ariana Dumbledore
Hebe Beardsall appeared briefly as Ariana Dumbledore in a portrait in Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and then reprised the role in The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Ariana is Albus Dumbledore’s younger sister, whose tragic history plays an important role in the backstory of Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
Luke Youngblood — Lee Jordan and Everett Clopton
Luke Youngblood took a very different route back to the Wizarding World, having originally played Lee Jordan in the first two Harry Potter movies, with the character serving as a Gryffindor student and Quidditch commentator.
Years later, however, Youngblood returned to the franchise in the open-world video game Hogwarts Legacy (2023) — this time as the voice of a new character named Everett Clopton, a Ravenclaw student.
Youngblood wasn’t quite done with Harry Potter gaming, though, as he reprised his role as Lee Jordan in the 2024 game Quidditch Champions.
Tom Felton — Draco Malfoy
Tom Felton’s return is one of the most direct examples of a Harry Potter movie actor stepping back into the same role.
Felton played Draco Malfoy throughout all eight original movies. This year, he returned as an adult Draco to the character on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The stage production takes place 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, meaning Felton is now portraying the character as a father. And he’s not going to be the only actor from the films returning to the stage (keep reading to find out who!).
Warwick Davis — Filius Flitwick
Warwick Davis is currently the only actor to have taken things one step further, as he will return as Professor Filius Flitwick in HBO’s Harry Potter, making him the first member of the original film cast to reprise the same role in the new television adaptation.
Davis played Flitwick throughout the movie franchise, although the character’s appearance changed considerably between the films. Now he’ll be sitting back down at the Hogwarts teachers’ table alongside an entirely new cast.
It’s one of the clearest signs yet that HBO isn’t completely cutting ties with the original films.
Related: Second ‘Harry Potter’ Star Exits Controversial Reboot, More To Come
Bill Nighy — Rufus Scrimgeour to Horace Slughorn
Bill Nighy is another Harry Potter film star who has returned to the Wizarding World, although he’s playing a completely different character this time around.
Nighy appeared in Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic who takes over from Cornelius Fudge. More than a decade later, he returned for Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions — but as Professor Horace Slughorn, the Hogwarts Potions professor, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Simon Pegg — Phineas Nigellus to Arthur Weasley
Mission: Impossible star Simon Pegg voices Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, however, he previously voiced Phineas Nigellus Black, the former Hogwarts headmaster, in Hogwarts Legacy.
Unlike his Cornetto Trilogy co-star Bill Nighy, Pegg wasn’t part of the original Harry Potter movie cast, but his return still fits the growing pattern of familiar actors finding new ways back into the Wizarding World.
Kit Harington — Gilderoy Lockhart
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington was recently cast as Gilderoy Lockhart for Season 2 of HBO’s series, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who stepped away from the role despite having been announced just two weeks earlier.
But Harington has already played the character before, as he voices Lockhart in the Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, which feature a huge ensemble of actors.
Arabella Stanton — Hermione Granger
Harington isn’t the only actor returning from Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions. Arabella Stanton is the new Hermione Granger in HBO’s Harry Potter, but she also voices the character in the first three volumes of the new audio adaptation.
The full-cast audiobooks feature more than 200 performers, many of whom have already been connected to the Wizarding World in one way or another.
With HBO now looking ahead to multiple seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising if more familiar voices eventually crossed over into the television series, as HBO’s reimagining suddenly seems tailor-made for actors from the Full-Cast Audio Editions to make the jump to live action.
Related: New ‘Harry Potter’ Series Has Officially Recast Harry, Ron, and Hermione for Seasons 4–7
Rupert Grint — Ron Weasley
Rupert Grint is the latest Harry Potter movie star to officially return to the role that made him famous.
The actor will reprise Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, nearly two decades after he last played the character on screen.
Like Tom Felton, Grint will be playing Ron as an adult, however, the pair won’t actually appear alongside each other in the Broadway production, as Felton’s run as Draco ends in January 2027.
Cursed Child is likely to keep attracting actors from the films, particularly now that both Tom Felton and Rupert Grint have officially returned to their famous roles.
Imelda Staunton — Dolores Umbridge
Though it’s not quite the same as a play, an audiobook, a game, or a TV series, it’s certainly worth mentioning that Imelda Staunton officially reprised her role as Dolores Umbridge for the Universal Epic Universe attraction Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which takes place shortly after Lord Voldemort’s defeat in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).
Could Daniel Radcliffe Also Return?
There are now rumors that Daniel Radcliffe could return to the Wizarding World as Lord Voldemort.
The idea would see the original Harry Potter actor return to the franchise, but this time as Harry’s greatest enemy, going from The Boy Who Lived to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
For now, that’s exactly what it is: a rumor. HBO has not announced Radcliffe as Voldemort, and the role of the adult Dark Lord remains officially unconfirmed.
HBO’s Harry Potter
HBO’s Harry Potter boasts a massive cast, including John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid), Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Katherine Parkinson (Molly Weasley), Paul Whitehouse (Argus Filch), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger).
The first season, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, premieres on Christmas Day.
Which of these returning actors surprised you the most? And who else would you like to see return to the Wizarding World? Let us know in the comments below!
