29 May – HBO's Harry Potter TV series has found its Harry, Ron and Hermione in newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout. McLaughlin, whose short resume include the upcoming British comedy "Grow", will play the titular role of Harry Potter, while Stout, who has never acted before, will play best friend Ron Weasley. Stanton is the one with the bigger name among the three, having played Matilda in the West End production of "Matilda: The Musical". "After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione and Ron," said showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner and executive producer and director Mark Mylod.
"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there." The three child actors will be joining John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. Others include Nick Frost as the affable groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as professor Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as caretaker Argus Filch.