By Basant El-Faramawy
Former Harry Potter actor Alex Crockford has congratulated Harry Gilby on being cast as Charlie Weasley in HBO's upcoming television adaptation of the wizarding franchise.
Brief Film Appearance
Crockford portrayed Charlie Weasley, the second-oldest Weasley sibling, in a single scene in 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." His appearance lasted approximately 1.5 seconds in a family photograph shown in a newspaper.
In a social media post, Crockford joked about passing the "dragon-wrangling kit" to Gilby and wrote: "Congratulations sir, and I hope you get more screen time than I did (the record to beat is 1.5 seconds!)"
Expanded Role in Series
While Charlie Weasley was largely absent from the film series, the character is described in J.K. Rowling's novels as a former Hogwarts student who works with dragons in Romania. The HBO series is expected to give the character a more substantial role.
Crockford left acting after the uncredited role, later becoming a senior counsel at a London law firm and publishing the mystery novel "The Time Capsule Murders: A Cambridge Mystery" last year.
Additional Casting Announcements
Gilby, 25, previously played a young J.R.R. Tolkien in the 2019 film "Tolkien" and appeared in BBC Two's "The Last Kingdom." HBO also revealed that Jasper Talbot will play James Potter and Hannah Chinn will portray Lily Potter.
The series, featuring Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max on Christmas Day.
