Harry Potter HBO series casts Shameless' David Threlfall as Sorting Hat as more characters are unveiled

Shameless star David Threlfall has been cast in the new Harry Potter HBO series as more characters are unveiled.The actor, 73, who is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series, has landed the role of Sorting Hat.He will voice the famous hat, which decides the houses Hogwarts students are divided into and is set to appear in Season 1 of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.HBO also announced the casting for the ghosts and Fat Lady on Friday. Meanwhile, Leo Bill will play Nearly Headless Nick, Andrew Brooke is the Bloody Baron and Daniel Fearn is the Fat Friar. The ghosts appear in The Philosopher’s Stone alongside the Fat Lady, who, if given the correct password, lets the Gryffindors into their lodgings. Shameless star David Threlfall has been cast in the new Harry Potter HBO series as more characters are unveiled The actor, 73, who is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series, has landed the role of Sorting Hat (pictured in 2025)The Fat Lady will be played by Laura Smyth.Earlier this month, titular wizard’s parents James and Lily Potter and Charlie Weasley were cast.Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn will play James and Lily.James and Lily only appeared in the Harry Potter movies in flashbacks, photographs and magical manifestations.HBO also announced the casting of Charlie just days earlier, who will be making his character screen debut, played by Harry Gilby.In the books, Ron Weasley's older brother is just a minor character and does not appear in any of the films.Series one, which will air on HBO on December 25, sees Harry Potter being told by his Aunt Petunia that there is 'nothing special about him.'But when a mysterious letter of admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrives, it opens the door to a hidden world of magic, friendship and adventure. Meanwhile Andrew Brooke will play The Bloody Baron Daniel Fearn will play The Fat Friar Leo Bill stars as Nearly Headless Nick While Laura Smyth has landed the role of The Fat Lady Yet behind Hogwarts’ enchanted walls lie dark secrets. Harry must find the courage to prove himself against the darkest wizard of all. The series, based on J K Rowling’s beloved books, is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner Harry Potter already has an incredible cast list and will star Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.John Lithgow has taken on the role of Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer plays Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu is Severus Snape and Nick Frost has taken on the role of Rubeus Hagrid.Game of Thrones favourite Kit Harington will join Season 2 as Gilderoy Lockhart.Since it was announced in 2023, the Harry Potter series has sparked controversy from anti-JK Rowling activists, with Nicholas Hoult even backing out of the project last month.Harry Potter author Rowling is a fierce defender of women's rights but has been labelled transphobic by some campaigners.Many of the actors taking up roles in the new series have faced the wrath of her critics, who believe any remakes of her work should be boycotted. Rowling serves as an executive producer on HBO's show.Filming for the second season of Harry Potter is expected to start this autumn.Details about the new show have been kept tightly under wraps. However, Rowling said in a post on X in June last year that she had read the scripts of the first two episodes – calling them 'SO, SO, SO GOOD'.The TV show comes a decade and a half after the original films based on Rowling's best-selling books came to an end, and it is reported to be a more faithful adaptation than the original cinematic incarnations.However, while HBO and many Harry Potter fans are excited for the upcoming remake, the show has been plagued with controversy from the get-go.Dubbed the 'streaming event of the decade', many former Potterheads have vowed to boycott the programme because of the ongoing controversy surrounding Rowling's comments about transgender people.However, with big stars on board, bosses are clearly hoping the love for the magic will overcome the controversy. The new generation of Harry Potter stars made an appearance at the HBO Max launch event in London back in March The highly anticipated series sees Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, bringing fresh faces to the iconic roles for the first time on TV (pictured original cast)With under two months until the show is scheduled for release on Christmas Day, several scandals have already hit the show.In May, it was revealed that the actor supposed to be playing Ginny Weasley had to drop out of the project.There were also reports of thefts in the prop room, and the series doesn't even have the backing of the original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus.In an extreme turn of events, Paapa Essiedu has said he has even faced death threats since being cast as Severus Snape in the new TV series.Opening up about the racist abuse he has had to endure, he explained how the trolls believe a black man should not play a fictional wizard and have told him: 'Quit or I'll murder you.' The role was previously taken on by Alan Rickman in the films.The upcoming show has also been hit with 'alarming' accusations of bullying and claims two 12-year-old extras were spotted fighting on set.According to reports in March, bosses at Warner Brothers were forced to step in and issue warnings to both adults and children, as well as the threats of being booted from the show no matter how famous they may be.A source said: 'There are a lot of youngsters on set at any one time, and the reality is that not everyone is going to get on. It's an alarming problem and bosses want to get rid of any bad eggs among the cast and crew.'Bosses have issued warnings about behaviour. The bullying accusations have involved adults and children. It has been made clear that anyone reported for bullying will be immediately axed, no matter how famous they may be.'HBO's Harry Potter series is set to premiere on Christmas Day on HBO Max.