Prior to being cast as the boy who lived, Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin’s only other onscreen acting credit was for the upcoming movie “Grow.” Starring “Bridgerton” Queen Charlotte actress Golda Rosheuvel, it’s the tale of a curmudgeonly pumpkin farmer with a secret heart of gold, whose participation in a major agricultural contest is stymied by the arrival of her orphaned niece Charlie (Priya-Rose Brookwell). Charlie turns out to have a special bond with plants that might significantly help in the contest.

McLaughlin’s role is apparently not a large one, but it brought him into contact with Nick Frost, with whom he’ll be spending a lot of time on the “Harry Potter” set. In “Grow,” Frost will play a pumpkin pundit named Arlo, while Jeremy Swift from “Downton Abbey” will portray a pumpkin mad scientist. The family comedy will be an original movie for Britain’s Sky networks.

Unlike Emma Watson, who had only ever acted in school plays before scoring the role of a lifetime as Hermione, Arabella Stanton, not yet a teenager, has already had two major London West End stage roles to her name. She was the lead in “Matilda: the Musical” for a season, and one of several young actors who played Control in a recent production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Starlight Express.”

Though the recent Harry Potter play “The Cursed Child” made a big deal of casting a Black actress for Hermione, with J. K. Rowling’s approval, that doesn’t look to be the case here. In casting an already experienced actress, however, the series does seem — in this part as well as others, which we’ll get to — to be casting actors who look like actors, rather than going more natural for the kids.

Like Rupert Grint, Alastair Stout was a virtual unknown when cast in the key lead role of Ron Weasley, Harry’s best friend and Hermione’s future husband. Intrepid Harry Potter fans have managed to dig up a TV commercial for Jersey Royal potatoes in which he appears briefly, identifiable primarily by his signature red hair. So they’re going for a natural redhead, at least. Like his costars, he also looks more like a traditional child actor than just a natural, awkward kid.

John Lithgow could never have landed a major role in the original “Harry Potter” movies. Back then, J.K. Rowling insisted that all the major actors be British or Irish. Having played British icon Winston Churchill in a mostly otherwise British-cast “The Crown” on Netflix (above), however, Lithgow is practically an honorary Englishman. He has also played Roald Dahl onstage, and his natural North Atlantic accent isn’t too far off to be adaptable to English. As for experience playing ancient, magical mentors, he voiced Yoda in NPR’s radio drama adaptations of the “Star Wars” trilogy.

Lithgow comes to the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore with an advantage that Richard Harris and Michael Gambon did not (though Jude Law did) — the knowledge of Rowling’s after-the-fact reveal that the character is gay. Among many other things, Lithgow is known for an inspiring 2014 portrayal of a gay man in 2014’s “Love Is Strange,” and a gay grandpa to a nonbinary child in this year’s “Jimpa.” One of his notable breakthrough movie roles, for which he was Oscar-nominated, was as a trans woman, Roberta Muldoon, in 1982’s “The World According to Garp.” Maybe don’t tell that to Rowling, whose anti-trans comments are condemned by many previous “Harry Potter” stars.

It’s hard to imagine anyone matching up to Alan Rickman’s masterful performance as the morally ambiguous Professor Snape, easily the highlight of the previous films. As such, it’s no surprise that the new production has gone in a completely different direction, with Ghanaian East Londoner Paapa Essiedu. A Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus, Essiedu has played Hamlet and King Lear onstage, and Demetrius in a TV adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He made a name for himself on the U.K. crime series “Gangs of London” and the black (and Black) comedy series “I May Destroy You.”

U.S. viewers may recognize him the most either from his small role as a dangerous boyfriend in Alex Garland’s “Men,” or from the “Black Mirror” episode “Demon 79” (above), in which he plays a demon named Gaap, who takes a form inspired by Boney M’s Bobby Farrell. Gaap is awoken from a talisman and must persuade an ordinary department store employee to murder three people to prevent the apocalypse.

Casting Snape as a Black man may add a new subtext to his pining for Harry’s mother, Lily — will viewers infer that societal anti-miscegenation prejudices were at play? Will the show lean into it? Is there any way to avoid such perceptions? We’ll find out.

Janet McTeer has been nominated for two Oscars, first as the itinerant mother Mary Jo in 1999’s “Tumbleweeds,” and as the male-presenting painter Hubert in the 2011 period drama “Albert Nobbs,” about a butler played by Glenn Close who is also secretly female but living as a man to make more money. McTeer is a Tony award-winner for 1997’s “A Doll’s House,” and an Emmy nominee for playing Clementine Churchill, wife of Winston, on HBO’s “Into the Storm.”

Genre fans may recognize her more recent portrayal of Jessica Jones’ super-powered mother, Alisa, on the Netflix Marvel series. She also appeared in “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” as Walters, and in “The Menu” as food critic Lillian Bloom. On TV’s “Ozark” (above), she plays cartel attorney Helen Pierce. As she often plays Americans, many viewers may not even know she’s English.

McTeer is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Royal Exchange Theatre. She’s also no stranger to young adult fantasy franchises, having played Edith Prior in two of the “Divergent” movies.

Robbie Coltrane, the portly, pleasant, comic character actor, was perfect for the original role of Hagrid, the awkward but kind-hearted half-giant with an irresponsible collection of dangerous pets. Nick Frost is the same kind of actor as the late Coltrane, best known for his roles alongside Simon Pegg in Edgar Wright’s thematic “Cornetto Trilogy” of “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End.” He reteamed with Pegg for the comedy “Paul,” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin,” where the duo played detectives Thompson and Thomson. 

As the voice of pirate droid SM-33 in “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” Frost showed that he could work with kids as both a deadly friend and occasionally dangerous foe. If anyone can replace Coltrane, he’s the right type for it. He also has experience with fantasy creatures, in his recent role as Gobber the Belch in the live-action “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Frost began his acting career in corporate training videos, which arguably prepared him for a background in the kind of safety instructions Hagrid should be giving … even though he sometimes falls short. He has been making a big promise about his Hagrid performance, but luckily, he’s the sort of actor who generally delivers.

Luke Thallon is primarily a stage actor, who originally wanted to be a dentist. That may be appropriate for Quirinus Quirrell, who needs more than one bad tooth removed from his head. As it’s surely no spoiler to say at this point, Quirrell’s turban is covering up the face of Voldemort, a dramatic reveal that predated the campy horror cult classic “Malignant.” Rumor has it that a higher-profile actor could be cast as the Dark Lord, but won’t be named until later; then again, Ralph Fiennes didn’t play the character until several movies in. Thallon could potentially play him for now, as the tumor-head version doesn’t have to look or sound the same as the eventual full-body incarnation.

Paul Whitehouse is getting a second chance at Hogwarts glory, as he originally played Sir Cadogan, a living painting in “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” but had his scenes deleted. Now re-cast as cantankerous groundskeeper Argus Filch, he can’t be cut from the story, though at 67 at the time of writing and with a heart condition, he needs his health to hold out.

A popular Welsh comedian, Whitehouse has done sketch comedy shows like “The Fast Show,” the conversational reality comedy series “Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing” (above), and feature films including “The Death of Stalin” and “The Personal History of David Copperfield.” As a voice actor, he has worked with Tim Burton twice: once as the March Hare in “Alice in Wonderland,” and as multiple voices in “The Corpse Bride.” He currently appears on Channel 4’s “The Change,” a comedy starring, written by, and created by Bridget Christie about menopause.

Lox Pratt will appear as the antagonist Jack in an upcoming BBC remake of “Lord of the Flies,” a story famously involving boys being cruel to other boys, so it should be a seamless transition to playing young Draco Malfoy, Harry’s classroom nemesis. “Pratt” is British slang for a fool or idiot, often hurled around as a schoolboy taunt, so young Lox has no doubt endured some grief for it that he can easily hurl back when in character as a scion of Slytherin. Based on the headshot, he has that cold “purebred” look absolutely captured.

Bertie Carvel has some experience playing equivocating politicians who try to please “both sides” and stay out of trouble — he portrayed real-life Prime Minister Tony Blair on “The Crown” (above). Blair is best known for being good pals with George W. Bush during the latter’s Iraq War, and for persuading Queen Elizabeth II that Diana Spencer should be remembered as a Princess. Is it fair to say in hindsight, and the wake of Brexit, that, like Cornelius Fudge, he failed to see his own Voldemorts rising? Maybe. Carvel could probably make the connection, as he also won a Tony for playing conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch in “Ink.” He narrated the recent BBC revival of “Walking With Dinosaurs.”

Carvel hasn’t had many film roles, but he did play Banquo in Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” having previously played the titular lead on stage at London’s Union Theatre.

Zoe Wanamaker’s flying teacher, Madame Hooch, disappeared from the film franchise after the first film, when producers didn’t wanna make her a better offer to return. Louise Brealey is presumably locked into a longer-term deal, as Hooch appears again in subsequent books. Brealey has been a cast regular in many shows, notably “Sherlock” as pathologist Molly Hooper (above), but also “Casualty,” “Mayo,” “Ripper Street,” “Exile,” and most recently as single mother Deb on the sitcom “Such Brave Girls.” In 2023, she starred in the award-winning Welsh jukebox musical “Chuck Chuck Baby,” about a chicken factory worker suddenly confronted with the return to town of her adolescent crush.

Brealey began her entertainment career as a reviewer and magazine writer, and is also a playwright, having written 2013’s “Pope Joan.”

Johnny Flynn played David Bowie in the biopic “Stardust,” which gave him some experience with the luscious locks that Lucius loves. He’s played Ian Fleming in “Operation Mincemeat,” Albert Einstein in National Geographic’s ‘Genius,” and the Matt Damon role of Dickie Greenleaf in Netflix’s “Ripley.” He’s also a musician, having composed the score for “A Bag of Hammers,” and an end-credits song for 2020’s “Emma,” in which he also costarred as Mr. Knightley. As a solo performer, he has released several hit albums in the folk revival genre. We probably won’t hear Lucius Malfoy sing, but his icy insults might just benefit from a certain musical quality.

He’s next set to appear in Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, “Goodbye June,” alongside Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, and “Harry Potter” alumnus Timothy Spall.

This could be the “Harry Potter” franchise’s equivalent of casting Marisa Tomei as Peter Parker’s Aunt May. Nobody besides Uncle Vernon is meant to find Aunt Petunia hot, but that’s likely to change with the casting of Bel Powley, who, at 33, is about 10 years younger than Fiona Shaw was in the first movie, in the role. Perhaps smarting from criticisms that the Dursley characters are written as fatphobic, Warner Bros. seems to be going in a pointedly opposite direction.

Powley turned heads in her breakthrough role as the star of “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s autobiographical hybrid graphic novel, and that same year played Princess Margaret in “A Royal Night Out.” In “King of Staten Island” (above), she more than held her own as Kelsey, long-suffering girlfriend to Pete Davidson’s Scott.

Petunia gets an appropriately more handsome Vernon in Daniel Rigby, who, at 42, is also a good decade younger than Richard Griffiths was. Perhaps a young pregnancy on Petunia’s part, to a rotten son at that, explains their dysfunction now?

Regardless, Rigby is a successful stand-up comic and actor who won a BAFTA award for playing comedian Eric Morecambe in the Morecambe & Wise TV biopic “Eric and Ernie,” beating out Matt Smith as The Doctor and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes for the honor. He was also the narrator for “Teletubbies” for three years, proving he doesn’t actually hate kids.

Rigby will next appear in the upcoming “Blade Runner 2099” miniseries on Prime Video, starring Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer.

Clearly, once Dudley’s parents were cast with good-looking actors, he couldn’t be fully repellent to believably carry their genes. Crooked bangs aside, Amos Kitson is evidently a handsomer version of cousin Dudley, and leaked set photos indicate that he will not be fat. He will, however, be blond, as he was in the books.

Kitson trained in acting at the BAFTA-winning UK charity The Television Workshop. “Harry Potter” will be his first TV or movie credit.

Anyone succeeding John Hurt might be seen as lesser, but this actor literally is by virtue of his name; getting that joke out of the way quickly. Anton Lesser is best known to fans of fantasy and HBO shows as Qyburn from “Game of Thrones,” and with that in mind, Cersei’s mad scientist will probably look quite at home handling and selling magic wands. He also played Major Partagaz in “Andor” and King George’s minister Lord John Carteret in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” so being on the side of good in a major franchise will be a change.

A Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus, Lesser also notably played UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on “The Crown” (above), and will next appear in “The World Will Tremble,” a film by Lior Geller, about an attempt to escape Chelmno, the Nazi death camp.

The new matriarch of the Weasley clan is perhaps most familiar as Jen from “The IT Crowd” (above), a relatively normal voice of reason among the awkward nerds. She is now close to the same age Julie Walters was then, so it’s not as incongruous a choice as it may seem, and she has some experience being a comforting figure the viewer naturally gravitates toward in the midst of chaos and strangeness. Prior to “The IT Crowd,” she was a regular on “Doc Martin” as receptionist/phlebotomist Pauline Lamb; afterward, she played lawyer Laura Hawkins on “Humans,” once again playing a more grounded character in an odd situation, in this instance surrounded by robots.

Most recently, she voiced Mrs. Forrest in Richard Curtis’ animated “That Christmas,” which also featured original “Harry Potter” alumna Fiona Shaw.

Leo Earley is already a bit of a child star in his native Ireland, having won the under-12 storytelling contest at  the Irish music festival Fleadh Cheoil 2024. He went on to appear on “The Late Late Toy Show,” a special Christmas charity edition of the Irish “Late Late Show,” to perform a comedic monologue about the benefits of hats. In both cases, he proved his bilingual skills by speaking in both English and Irish.

Earley hails from Leitrim, and “Harry Potter” will be his first dramatic TV series.

Neville is a complex role across the entire arc of the Harry Potter saga, going from awkward comic relief to handsome hero. As such, it’s fitting that Rory Wilmot has a little more TV experience than his young costars. He previously appeared on the European-set “FBI: International,” and will soon be seen on the London-based mystery-thriller “Out of the Dust,” starring former child actor Asa Butterfield, who might give him a pointer or two.

Wilmot is represented by Articulate, a major U.K. talent agency that has placed clients in movies like “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and “28 Years Later.”

Parvati Patil, Harry’s eventual date to the Yule Ball in “Goblet of Fire,” was initially played by Sitara Shah in “Prisoner of Azkaban,” notably seen facing her fears in Remus Lupin’s classroom. Shefali Chowdhury replaced her in subsequent films, but Alessia Leoni will presumably keep the role throughout. She’s got plenty of time to learn formal dance.

Leoni’s Italian heritage has sparked some inevitable controversy in the South Asian community, given that the character is meant to be of Indian descent.

Lavender Brown was initially such an ignored franchise character that the movies recast her — and race-swapped her! — and fans totally missed it, mainly because she wasn’t really addressed by name in “Chamber of Secrets.” Another Black actress, Jennifer Smith, played her in “Prisoner of Azkaban,” but when she reappeared in “The Half-Blood Prince,” she was replaced by Caucasian actress Jessie Cave, after J.K. Rowling finally confirmed the character’s race in that book.

With longer-term TV contracts, Sienna Moosah ought to retain the role throughout, evolving from background character to Ron’s annoying girlfriend. Moosah is best known in the U.K. for a series of TV commercials for the grocery chain ASDA.