Kit Harington shared he was “fully supportive” of HBO’s “Harry Potter” TV adaptation even before he landed the part of Gilderoy Lockhart.
During a Monday appearance on the”Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the “Game of Thrones” alum addressed his casting for the fantasy drama’s second season, which is based on J. K. Rowling’s book “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” Harington, a self-proclaimed fan of the “Harry Potter” book series, shared that he was ready to support the new TV adaptation ahead of joining the already stacked cast.
“I listen to the Stephen Fry audio books and I do that because … my brain is incredibly busy, especially at night,” Harington said of his love of the series. “And I’ve always found going to bed very difficult, and my brain doesn’t turn off and when I got sober that got especially bad. And so I started listening to ‘Harry Potter’ audiobooks and now they’re the thing I listen to every night and they just help me.”
Harington noted that he was also a fan of the series as a child.
“So they have a very special place in my heart,” he said. “And when I knew they were doing this show, I was like, ‘I think that’s a brilliant idea. I think they can really delve into it further than the films did’ … I’m fully supportive of it.”
He added: “And then got a call to be in it and that was just a very simple kind of ‘yes, please.’”
As Harington went on, he highlighted how he could understand Lockhart, calling the Hogwarts professor an addict.
“Now, we talk about what they’re addicted,” he noted. “He’s addicted to himself … It’s just a tiny step to my left.”
When asked if he had started working on “the look” of Lockhart, Harington confirmed that character development was underway, adding, “I’m going to say very little about anything because it’s highly secretive. But yes, I’m engaging with that as we speak.
While Harington admitted that he has sorted himself into Hogwarts’ Gryffindor house, he drew the line at going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.
“I think that if I ended up at a theme park, it might get a bit intense,” he quipped.
Watch Harington’s comments on “Harry Potter” below.
Harington’s remarks on the series come a month after he replaced Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart, who dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Not to mention, this won’t be Harington’s first time playing Lockhart, as he previously voiced the character in “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Edition” from Audible.
However, the show hasn’t come without some controversy, given several of the show’s stars have been asked to address Rowling’s anti-trans views. For instance, Nick Frost who plays Hagrid in the HBO series made it clear last year that his views are the opposite of Rowling’s.
“She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form,” Frost told The Observer at the time.
Despite this public relations hurdle, the show is on track to be a hit for HBO, as it received an early renewal months before its Christmas series launch. Season 2 is set to begin production this fall.
The post Kit Harington Explains Why He Was ‘Fully Supportive’ of HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series Before Gilderoy Lockhart Casting appeared first on TheWrap.
