HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Just Filled Its Last Major Weasley Role With ‘Trying’ Star Rafe Spall
Casting a beloved ensemble as massive as the Weasley family always comes with outsized pressure, especially when the source material spans generations of devoted readers who’ve imagined these characters in their heads for decades. HBO’s ongoing ‘Harry Potter‘ series has spent the better part of the past year slowly filling out that family, one role at a time.
The production had already locked in most of the Weasley clan well before cameras started rolling on Season 1, casting Katherine Parkinson as matriarch Molly Weasley and Alastair Stout as her son Ron, Harry’s future best friend. From there, the family continued to expand, with Tristan Harland and Gabriel Harland stepping into the twin roles of Fred and George, and Ruari Spooner rounding out the group as Percy.
That left only one significant gap in the family tree, and it’s now officially been filled. Rafe Spall has been cast as Arthur Weasley, the family’s quirky, Muggle-obsessed patriarch, for Season 2 of HBO’s ‘Harry Potter,’ according to THR. The casting closes out one of the more anticipated remaining roles in the show’s ensemble, given how central Arthur becomes to the story as the series progresses further into Rowling’s books.
Spall’s casting arrives alongside several other Season 2 additions. Billy Barratt has joined as a young Tom Riddle, a casting choice that put to rest earlier fan theories about who might eventually take on that role, while Lenny Rush has been cast as the fan-favorite house-elf Dobby. Bonnie Hill has also stepped into the role of Ginny Weasley, replacing original Season 1 actress Gracie Cochrane, who departed the project after the first season wrapped.
These additions build on an already extensive main cast that includes Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. The show is structured to adapt each of Rowling’s seven novels into its own dedicated season, with Rowling herself serving as an executive producer on the project.
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Production on Season 2 appears to be moving quickly. Several cast members were reportedly back on set filming as early as August, well ahead of the fall production start that had initially been teased following the show’s Season 2 renewal in May.
That urgency tracks with comments from HBO chief Casey Bloys, who told The Times of London that the network’s writers were already working on Season 2 scripts, explicitly aiming to avoid a large gap between installments given how quickly the young cast is growing. Bloys was careful to note the show still won’t operate on a strict annual schedule given its scale, but the network is clearly trying to move as efficiently as possible while its core cast remains age-appropriate for their roles.
With Season 1’s adaptation of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ set to premiere on HBO Max this Christmas Day, Spall’s casting as Arthur Weasley gives fans one more confirmed piece of the puzzle as the show continues building toward its next chapter.
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