HBO’s Harry Potter television series has found its Arthur Weasley.
The network confirmed that Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) will play the Muggle-obsessed patriarch of the low-income Wizarding family. A perfect casting choice, given the fact that Rafe is a magical nepo baby. His real-world father, Timothy Spall, played the sniveling traitor Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail in the Warner Bros. film adaptions of J.K. Rowling’s watershed saga.
Indeed, the Potter universe has always been something of a family affair, with father-son duo Brendan Gleeson and Domnhall Gleeson sharing the screen as Mad-Eye Moody and Bill Weasley in Deathly Hallows Part 1. Similarly, Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort starting with Goblet of Fire, while his nephew, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, tackled 11 year old Tom Riddle in Dumbledore’s Half-Blood Price memory.
In addition, the HBO show has added Molly Hewitt-Richards and Jasper Ambrose as morose Hogwarts spirit Moaning Myrtle and camera-toting Muggle-born Colin Creevey, respectively. Like Kit Harington’s Gilderoy Lockhart Billy Barratt’s Tom Riddle and Lenny Rush’s Dobby, the two characters won’t appear until season two (based on Chamber of Secrets).
While Arthur Weasley wasn’t introduced until the second book, it is possible we get a glimpse of him in the debut season, which has already teased a scene at the Weasley household that wasn’t in the original Philosopher’s Stone novel.
“I think with this adaptation, you get to see so much more than the books,” Lox Pratt, set to play Draco Malfoy, teased earlier this year. “[The books] are very much over Harry’s shoulder, which is great, and that’s how they played the film as well. There’s just so much more that you get to see. You get to see all the teachers in their little rooms. You get to see Draco at home. I won’t spoil too much about that, but there are some brilliant scenes at home where you start to get an insight into how he is.”
Rounding out the Weasley family are Katherine Parkinson (Molly Weasley), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley), Tristan Harland (Fred Weasley), Gabriel Harland (George Weasley), Ruari Spooner (Percy Weasley) and Gracie Cochrane (Ginny Weasley).
Starting in season two, Ginny will be played by Bonnie Hill. No word on casting for elder Weasley brothers Bill and Charlie, but since the two aren’t set to appear until Goblet of Fire, we wouldn’t be too surprised if we don’t hear about them for quite some time.
When Does Harry Potter TV Show Come Out?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premieres exclusively on HBO Friday, Dec. 25.
The small screen translation hails from showrunner Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, The Man in the High Castle) and director Mark Mylod (Entourage, The Menu).
Both serve as executive producers with Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts and David Heyman.
