Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington is now swapping franchises and will step into the Wizarding World via Harry Potter. The actor will now appear in Audible’s star-studded audiobook series. Harington is set to voice Gilderoy Lockhart in the new production of “The Chamber of Secrets”. Harington says he grew up on J.K. Rowling’s books and thus approaches the role as a fan.
Kit Harington is joining the Harry Potter universe as this famous character
Kit Harington revealed that he was happy to say yes when Audible asked him to play Lockhart in their new Harry Potter audiobook series. He said, “It was a really simple yes, because I love the character.” He described Lockhart as an entertaining, larger-than-life figure who is fun for an actor to play. Harrington explained, “As far as cameos in a series go, you don’t get much more entertaining and fun to do as an actor than Gilderoy Lockhart. It was a no-brainer” (via Variety).
A longtime reader of the books, Harington said the stories have stayed with him. He explained that he has used the audiobooks as a nightly ritual. He said, “I’ve gone to bed every evening for the past six or seven years listening to them just on notation, and it’s a kind of sleep aid for me. I know them like the back of my hand. I’m a complete nerd for the books.”
This familiarity helped him shape Lockhart’s voice without a lot of research. As he put it, “There’s a little part of Lockhart in all of us, and there’s more than a little bit of Lockhart in me.”
Kit Harington also explained his approach to the role. Lockhart is flashy and vain on the surface, but, in Harington’s view, he also has a fragile side once his true nature is exposed. The actor said that playing Lockhart allowed him to push the character “quite big” for audio while still holding the character’s underlying sadness. He even noted the trickier lines he enjoyed tackling, like the pixie spell “Peskipiksi Pesternomi.”
