Harry Potter Cast Guide - Wizards Welcome

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Melika has loved Harry Potter since she entered the magical halls of Hogwarts at 8 years old. She proudly considers the world of Harry Potter her home, and even as an adult, her obsession with the series remains strong. Whether it's revisiting the original books and movies, hunting down the best merch pieces, or reading up on Wizarding lore, Melika knows it all and is eager to share it with you!

Bottom Line Up Front

Who plays Harry Potter? Daniel Radcliffe
Who plays Ron Weasley? Rupert Grint
Who plays Hermione Granger? Emma Watson
When was the first Harry Potter movie released? 2001
How many Harry Potter movies were there? Eight

The Harry Potter Movies

Whilst the books are undoubtedly excellent, this cast guide is naturally more focused on the movies. I’m going to be looking at the main series, so it will not include actors from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Here’s a list of all 8 Harry Potter movies and their release dates.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – 2001
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 2002
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 2004
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – 2005
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – 2007
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – 2009
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – 2011

Major Hogwarts Students

As much of the Harry Potter series takes place at Hogwarts, it’s no surprise that the students are the main protagonists. Some get considerably more screen time than others, so here are all the cast members who played the most prominent Hogwarts students.

Harry Potter

Played by – Daniel Radcliffe
Actor’s date of birth – 23rd July 1989
Character’s significant relationships – Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (best friends), Sirius Black (godfather), Ginny Weasley (wife), Albus Severus, James Sirius, and Lily Luna Potter (children), Petunia and Vernon Dursley (aunt and uncle), Dudley Dursley (cousin)
Fun fact: Daniel broke over 80 wands during filming throughout the movies because he treated them like drumsticks and banged them on hard surfaces!

Ron Weasley

Played by – Rupert Grint
Actor’s date of birth – 24th August 1988
Character’s significant relationships – Harry Potter (best friend), Hermione Granger (wife), Molly and Arthur Weasley (parents), Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny Weasley (siblings), Hugo and Rose Weasley (children)
Fun fact – He used some of his Harry Potter earnings to buy an ice-cream van, which he drives around, and he gives out ice cream for free!

Hermione Granger

Played by – Emma Watson
Actor’s date of birth – 15th April 1990
Character’s significant relationships – Harry Potter (best friend), Ron Weasley (husband), Mr. and Mrs. Granger (parents), Hugo and Rose Weasley (children)
Fun fact – Emma Watson is now a Women Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.

Luna Lovegood

Played by – Evanna Lynch
Actor’s date of birth – 16th August 1991
Character’s significant relationships – Xenophilius Lovegood (father), Rolf Scamander (husband)
Fun fact – Evanna was a fan before being given a role in the movies, and J.K. Rowling gave her the role as a reward for beating her anorexia.

Neville Longbottom

Played by – Matthew Lewis
Actor’s date of birth – 27th June 1989
Character’s significant relationships – Augusta Longbottom (grandmother), Hannah Abbott (wife)
Fun fact – Matt Lewis had to wear a fat suit for most of the series to keep Neville’s pudgy physique.

Ginny Weasley

Played by – Bonnie Wright
Actor’s date of birth – 17th February 1991
Character’s significant relationships – Molly and Arthur Weasley (parents), Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie Weasley (siblings), Harry Potter (husband), Albus Severus, James Sirius, and Lily Luna Potter (children)
Fun fact – Bonnie had never acted before her first role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Draco Malfoy

Played by – Tom Felton
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd September 1987
Character’s significant relationships – Crabbe and Goyle (best friends), Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy (parents), Pansy Parkinson (girlfriend for most of the series), Astoria Greengrass (wife)
Fun fact – Tom Felton is now pursuing a music career as a singer-songwriter.

Fred and George Weasley

Played by – James Phelps/ Oliver Phelps
Actor’s date of birth – 25th February 1986
Characters’ significant relationships – Molly and Arthur Weasley (parents), Ron, Ginny, Percy, Bill, and Charlie Weasley (siblings), Angelina Johnson (George’s wife)
Fun fact – James and Oliver would occasionally prank the crew by switching roles whilst on set!

Minor Hogwarts Students

Even though the characters in the above section get more screen time, there are many other important roles throughout the Harry Potter series. Just because a student doesn’t appear in every scene doesn’t make them any less vital to the success of the series. However, as there are plenty of extras or students who only get a few lines, I’m only going to mention the students who either appeared in several films or had key lines in pivotal scenes. Here’s the casting guide for minor Hogwarts students!

Dean Thomas

Played by – Alfred Enoch
Actor’s date of birth – 2nd December 1988
Character’s significant relationships – Seamus Finnigan (best friend)
Fun fact – He’s great with fans! Alfred regularly attends conventions, plus I once met him on the street in London. He was super friendly, even taking a picture with me.

Seamus Finnigan

Played by – Devon Murray
Actor’s date of birth – 28th October 1988
Character’s significant relationships – Dean Thomas (best friend)
Fun fact – His first TV appearance was at the tender age of 6 when he appeared in a Tesco advert.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle

Played by – Jamie Waylett/ Josh Herdman
Actor’s date of birth – 21st July 1989/26th March 1987
Characters’ significant relationships – Draco Malfoy (best friend)
Fun fact – Crabbe was replaced with Blaise Zabini in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 because Jamie Waylett had participated in the 2011 London riots.

Oliver Wood

Played by – Sean Biggerstaff
Actor’s date of birth – 15th March 1983
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Sean initially auditioned for the role of Percy Weasley. Still, the casting crew felt he was more suited to the character of Oliver Wood.

Parvati Patil

Played by – Shefali Chowdhury
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd June 1988
Character’s significant relationships – Padma Patil (sister), Lavender Brown (best friend)
Fun fact – After acting in the Harry Potter series, Shefali went on to study photography.

Lavender Brown

Played by – Jessie Cave
Actor’s date of birth – 5th May 1987
Character’s significant relationships – Parvati Patil (best friend), Ron Weasley (boyfriend in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Fun fact – Over 7,000 girls auditioned for the role of Lavender Brown, so Jessie had to face down some tough competition to be cast.

Colin Creevey

Played by – Hugh Mitchell
Actor’s date of birth – 7th September 1989
Character’s significant relationships – Dennis Creevey (brother), Harry Potter (role model)
Fun fact – Colin Creevey is rarely seen without his trusty camera, and Hugh himself grew up to be a professional photographer!

Nigel Wolpert

Played by – William Melling
Actor’s date of birth – 30th November 1994
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Before appearing in his first Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), William acted in the movie Vanity Fair.

Bem

Played by – Ekow Quartey
Actor’s date of birth – 12th July 1990
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Even though his character was known for being overweight in the movies, Ekow now has an impressive physique and works as a personal trainer.

Percy Weasley

Played by – Chris Rankin
Actor’s date of birth – 8th November 1983
Character’s significant relationships – Molly and Arthur Weasley (parents), Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie Weasley (siblings), Penelope Clearwater (girlfriend)
Fun fact – Chris works with many LGBTQ+ charities and has hosted official Pride events on several occasions.

Blaise Zabini

Played by – Louis Cordice
Actor’s date of birth – 1st October 1989
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Louis was never meant to have such a significant role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 but had to step in for the Room of Requirement scene after Jamie Waylett (Crabbe) got arrested.

Pansy Parkinson

Played by – Genevieve Gaunt/ Scarlett Byrne
Actor’s date of birth – 13th January 1991/6th October 1990
Character’s significant relationships – Draco Malfoy (boyfriend)
Fun fact – Genevieve initially played Pansy in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban but was later replaced by Scarlett for unspecified reasons. It’s thought that it’s to do with her looking young compared to the other actors in her Hogwarts year.

Cedric Diggory

Played by – Robert Pattinson
Actor’s date of birth – 13th May 1986
Character’s significant relationships – Amos Diggory (father)
Fun fact – Although for most Harry Potter cast members, this series is what they’re most well known for, that’s not the case for Pattinson. He later got the lead male role as Edward Cullen in Twilight, and in 2022 he played the titular role in The Batman.

Cho Chang

Played by – Katie Leung
Actor’s date of birth – 8th August 1987
Character’s significant relationships – Marietta Edgecombe (best friend)
Fun fact – Katie loves studying the arts and has two degrees – one for photography and one for theatre.

Justin Finch-Fletchley

Played by – Edward Randell
Actor’s date of birth – 2nd July 1988
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Edward didn’t go on to do any other professional acting and now plays bass in a music group called The Swingle Singers.

Cormac McLaggen

Played by – Freddie Stroma
Actor’s date of birth – 8th January 1987
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – As well as being a talented actor, he’s also highly academic and has a degree in Neuroscience from University College London.

Romilda Vane

Played by – Anna Shaffer
Actor’s date of birth – 15th March 1992
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Anna continued acting after her appearance in the Harry Potter movies and most recently was cast for the role of Triss in the highly acclaimed Netflix series, The Witcher.

Lee Jordan

Played by – Luke Youngblood
Actor’s date of birth – 12th June 1986
Character’s significant relationships – Fred and George Weasley (best friends)
Fun fact – Although he might have been unknown to international viewers, British fans would have already recognized Luke for playing the role of Ben in the iconic kid’s TV show, The Story of Tracy Beaker.

Hogwarts Staff

While the students are the main focus of Harry Potter as it’s ultimately aimed at kids, no school would be complete without its staff. And Hogwarts has a particularly eccentric faculty, each with its unique personality. Not to mention the ever-changing Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers. Although I think the casting for the students was brilliant, in my opinion, the Hogwarts staff were the pinnacle of perfection when it came to the actors chosen. Let’s get to know the famous faces behind these incredible characters!

Albus Dumbledore

Played by – Richard Harris/ Michael Gambon
Actor’s date of birth – 1st October 1930/19th October 1940
Character’s significant relationships – Aberforth and Ariana Dumbledore (siblings)
Fun fact – Richard Harris nearly didn’t take the role and only agreed to it after his granddaughter persuaded him to, as she was a massive fan of the books.

Minerva McGonagall

Played by – Maggie Smith
Actor’s date of birth – 28th December 1934
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Maggie was thoroughly dedicated to the movies and even continued despite getting cancer. Thankfully, she made a full recovery in 2009.

Filius Flitwick

Played by – Warwick Davis
Actor’s date of birth – 3rd February 1970
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Warwick’s family are also dwarves. So they appeared as goblins in a scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Severus Snape

Played by – Alan Rickman
Actor’s date of birth – 21st February 1946
Character’s significant relationships – Lily Potter (best friend in school)
Fun fact – Alan Rickman nearly refused the role as he didn’t feel there was enough depth to Snape beyond just being the bad guy, but J.K. Rowling herself spoke to him and revealed the secret about Snape’s motivations.

Rubeus Hagrid

Played by – Robbie Coltrane
Actor’s date of birth – 30th March 1950
Character’s significant relationships – Albus Dumbledore (mentor), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger (close friends), Olympe Maxime (girlfriend)
Fun fact – Obviously, Robbie isn’t as tall as the half-giant that is Hagrid, so during filming, they used techniques such as forced perspective and a green screen to artificially enhance his height.

Gilderoy Lockhart

Played by – Kenneth Branagh
Actor’s date of birth – 10th December 1960
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – While Lockhart may have to fake his accolades, Kenneth himself has a lot to be proud of. As well to being an actor, he’s also a talented director and has made many popular films, including the MCU movie Thor.

Remus Lupin

Played by – David Thewlis
Actor’s date of birth – 20th March 1963
Character’s significant relationships – Sirius Black (best friend), Nymphadora Tonks (wife), Teddy Lupin (son)
Fun fact – Although Harry Potter is full of impressive actors, Thewlis is probably one of the most acclaimed of them all, having appeared in a whole host of commercially successful films outside the series.

Dolores Umbridge

Played by – Imelda Staunton
Actor’s date of birth – 9th January 1956
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Imelda often jokes about taking offense when her friends told her she’d be “perfect for the role,” given how despicable Umbridge is as a character.

Horace Slughorn

Played by – Jim Broadbent
Actor’s date of birth – 24th May 1949
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – When he’s not acting, one of his hobbies is sculpting gargoyles, as he likes that if you make a mistake, it just adds to the charm of the figure.

Quirinus Quirrell

Played by – Ian Hart
Actor’s date of birth – 8th October 1964
Character’s significant relationships – Voldemort (attached to the back of his head)
Fun fact – He had to play a double role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as not only was he Quirrell, but he also provided the voice for Voldemort in the final confrontation between him and Harry.

Sybil Trelawney

Played by – Emma Thompson
Actor’s date of birth – 15th April 1959
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – She and her husband adopted a teenage refugee from Rwanda named Tindy, and raised him as their son, showing that she’s kind as well as talented.

Argus Filch

Played by – David Bradley
Actor’s date of birth – 17th April 1942
Character’s significant relationships – Mrs. Norris (pet cat)
Fun fact – David has been in two very successful, quintessentially British franchises. As well as Harry Potter, he also was cast as the First Doctor in 2017 as part of a plot in Doctor Who as the original actor (William Hartnell) was no longer living.

Pomona Sprout

Played by – Miriam Margolyes
Actor’s date of birth – 18th May 1941
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Since performing the role of Professor Sprout, Miriam has gone on to become somewhat of a cultural icon for Millenials due to her no-nonsense attitude and dry humor during interviews.

Rolanda Hooch

Played by – Zoe Wanamaker
Actor’s date of birth – 13th May 1949
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Before seeing her in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, some fans may have recognized her from the popular comedy show My Family, where she played the mother, Susan Harper.

Poppy Pomfrey

Played by – Gemma Jones
Actor’s date of birth – 4th December 1942
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Gemma’s real first name is Jennifer, but there was already an actress named Jennifer Jones, and so she had to change her name to become part of the industry.

Family of Hogwarts Students

Although most of the series is set within the grounds of Hogwarts, we do still see the family life of several students. These characters help give context to the personality of the students, as we see a glimpse of their lives outside of school. All the characters will have a family. Still, the family often doesn’t appear at all or has a minimal role. I’m only focusing on family members that appear in several scenes for this Harry Potter cast guide. I’m including both of Harry’s parents as they appear in flashbacks. He often looks at their picture, so they have an essential role in framing his emotional side.

Arthur Weasley

Played by – Mark Williams
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd August 1959
Character’s significant relationships – Molly Weasley (wife), Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie Weasley (children)
Fun fact – Even though he works as an actor, Mark doesn’t enjoy watching TV. Instead, he spends a lot of his free time reading, and history is one of his main passions.

Molly Weasley

Played by – Julie Walters
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd February 1950
Character’s significant relationships – Arthur Weasley (husband), Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie Weasley (children)
Fun fact – Molly Weasley is always nagging Fred and George about their pranks, but it turns out Julie might be more like the mischievous twins in real life. When she was in Grammar school, she was asked to leave because of her high jinks.

Bill Weasley

Played by – Domhnall Gleeson
Actor’s date of birth – 12th May 1983
Character’s significant relationships – Fleur Delacour (wife), Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Ginny, and Charlie Weasley (siblings), Arthur and Molly Weasley (parents)
Fun fact – Domhnall is the son of esteemed British actor Brendan Gleeson, who himself is also in the Harry Potter series as Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody.

James Potter

Played by – Adrian Rawlins/ Robbie Jarvis
Actor’s date of birth – 27th March 1958/7th May 1986
Character’s significant relationships – Lily Potter (wife), Harry Potter (son), Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin (best friends)
Fun fact – Adrian was too old to play the teenage version of James Potter, so they cast Robbie for that role. However, interestingly, Robbie himself was already 20 at the time of filming.

Lily Potter

Played by – Geraldine Somerville/ Ellie Darcey-Alden
Actor’s date of birth – 19th May 1967/4th September 1999
Character’s significant relationships – James Potter (husband), Harry Potter (son), Petunia Dursley (sister)
Fun fact – Despite barely getting any screen time, Geraldine is one of only 13 actors who have appeared as the same character in all 8 Harry Potter movies!

Vernon Dursley

Played by – Richard Griffiths
Actor’s date of birth – 31st July 1947
Character’s significant relationships – Petunia Dursley (wife), Dudley Dursley (son), Marge Dursley (sister), Harry Potter (nephew)
Fun fact – Richard was fluent in British Sign Language, as both of his parents were deaf, so he learned at an early age.

Petunia Dursley

Played by – Fiona Shaw/ Ariella Paradise
Actor’s date of birth – 10th July 1958/16th July 1998
Character’s significant relationships – Vernon Dursley (husband), Dudley Dursley (son), Harry Potter (nephew), Lily Potter (sister)
Fun fact – Fiona has always had a love of acting and even played a gender-swapped version of King Richard II in a rendition of the Shakespearean play that she took part in back in the 1990s.

Dudley Dursley

Played by – Harry Melling
Actor’s date of birth – 13th March 1989
Character’s significant relationships – Vernon and Petunia Dursley (parents), Harry Potter (cousin), Marge Dursley (aunt)
Fun fact – Much like Matthew Lewis, Harry’s physique has dramatically changed since filming the Harry Potter series. Although Dudley was known for being rather on the large side, Harry is now considerably skinnier, in stark contrast to his appearance throughout the movies.

Marge Dursley

Played by – Pam Ferris
Actor’s date of birth – 11th May 1948
Character’s significant relationships – Vernon Dursley (brother), Dudley Dursley (nephew)
Fun fact – Pam has no aversion to playing nasty characters that bully children and was also cast as the mean Mrs. Trunchbull in the 1996 movie Matilda.

Xenophilius Lovegood

Played by – Rhys Ifans
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd July 1967
Character’s significant relationships – Luna Lovegood (daughter)
Fun fact – Rhys used his natural Welsh accent for the character of Xenophilius, and interestingly, Welsh is his first language, coming even before English.

Lucius Malfoy

Played by – Jason Isaacs
Actor’s date of birth – 6th June 1963
Character’s significant relationships – Narcissa Malfoy (wife), Draco Malfoy (son)
Fun fact – Jason is passionate about his work and likes to put his own spin on his characters. The scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where Lucius hits Dobby with his cane was improvised by Jason and weren’t originally in the script.

Narcissa Malfoy

Played by – Helen McCrory
Actor’s date of birth – 17th August 1968
Character’s significant relationships – Lucius Malfoy (husband), Draco Malfoy (son), Bellatrix Lestrange (sister)
Fun fact – Before her untimely death in 2021, Helen set up a charity to help NHS staff with meals during the Covid pandemic and helped to raise over £1 million.

Amos Diggory

Played by – Jeff Rawle
Actor’s date of birth – 20th July 1951
Character’s significant relationships – Cedric Diggory (son)
Fun fact – Jeff has spoken in interviews about how “lovely” he finds it that fans support his work and has said that he enjoys meeting and speaking to his fans.

Albus Severus Potter

Played by – Arthur Bowen
Actor’s date of birth – 14th April 1998
Character’s significant relationships – Harry Potter (father), James Sirius, and Lily Luna Potter (siblings)
Fun fact – Even though Harry Potter was a very prestigious role that could’ve kickstarted his career, Arthur didn’t have show business as an end goal, and he did not pursue acting any further.

Antagonists

You can’t have a hero without a good villain, and there are plenty that appears throughout the series. All of the death eaters would technically come under this category, but in this cast guide, I want to focus on the actors and actresses who played prominent roles. As such, only characters with multiple lines/ scenes are going to appear in this section. Also, I know that Voldemort and Tom Riddle are technically the same characters. Still, I’ve listed them separately to make the distinction between before and after he became Voldemort, as they had different actors.

Voldemort

Played by – Ian Hart/ Ralph Fiennes
Actor’s date of birth – 8th October 1964/22nd December 1962
Character’s significant relationships – Merope Gaunt (mother), Tom Riddle Sr (father), Marvolo Gaunt (grandfather)
Fun fact – Even though Voldemort’s crusade against muggles is an allegory for racism, Ralph himself couldn’t be further from the character, as he’s heavily involved with an anti-racism charity.

Tom Riddle

Played by – Christian Coulson/ Hero Fiennes Tiffin/ Frank Dillane
Actor’s date of birth – 3rd October 1978/6th November 1997/21st April 1991
Character’s significant relationships – Same as Voldemort’s
Fun fact – Hero, who plays the young version of Tom Riddle, has gone on to make a real name for himself in the acting industry, playing the popular Hardin Scott in the After film series.

Peter Pettigrew

Played by – Timothy Spall
Actor’s date of birth – 27th February 1957
Character’s significant relationships – Voldemort (mentor)
Fun fact – Timothy decided to lose weight for his reasons but found that it had a difficult impact on his acting career, as he was famous for being slightly on the larger side. Still, he’s happy with his choice and loves his skinnier physique.

Barty Crouch Jr

Played by – David Tennant
Actor’s date of birth – 18th April 1971
Character’s significant relationships – Barty Crouch Sr (father)
Fun fact – As well as being in Harry Potter, David also played the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, and in 2013 he won the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Television Awards in London.

Bellatrix Lestrange

Played by – Helena Bonham Carter
Actor’s date of birth – 26th May 1966
Character’s significant relationships – Rodolphus Lestrange (husband), Narcissa Malfoy (sister), Draco Malfoy (nephew), Voldemort (mentor)
Fun fact – Bellatrix is renowned for being eccentric as well as evil. Although Helena is lovely in real life, she too likes to live life a bit on the weird side, and her fans love her unique fashion sense.

Pius Thicknesse

Played by – Guy Henry
Actor’s date of birth – 17th October 1960
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Guy is probably best known for playing Henrik Hanssen on the popular British medical show Holby City, which recently ended permanently after 23 years of being on air!

Other Prominent Characters

Not all the amazing characters in Harry Potter can fit neatly into a category, but that doesn’t make them any less integral to the series. In this final section, I’m going to talk you through the cast members that play some of the other wonderful characters that we get to meet throughout the movies.

Cornelius Fudge

Played by – Robert Hardy
Actor’s date of birth – 29th October 1925
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – When he wasn’t acting, Robert was a bit of a history buff and wrote two books on the subject of medieval English longbows.

Rufus Scrimgeour

Played by – Bill Nighy
Actor’s date of birth – 12th December 1949
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Scrimgeour was an uncharacteristically stoic character compared to Bill’s usual roles. He’s probably best known for playing the hilarious Billy Mack in the beloved Christmas movie, Love Actually.

Aberforth Dumbledore

Played by – Ciarán Hinds
Actor’s date of birth – 9th February 1953
Character’s significant relationships – Albus and Ariana Dumbledore (siblings)
Fun fact – Ciarán may play a relatively minor role in Harry Potter, but he’s been in many other impressive franchises, such as Game of Thrones, Justice League, and Frozen.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Played by – George Harris
Actor’s date of birth – 20th October 1949
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Despite not being raised there, George has a great fondness for the city of Newcastle, as he feels the Geordies have a great sense of humor and are full of spunk.

Sirius Black

Played by – Gary Oldman
Actor’s date of birth – 21st March 1958
Character’s significant relationships – James Potter and Remus Lupin (best friends), Harry Potter (godson)
Fun fact – Gary has a bit of a reputation for his characters dying on screen. Even Brad Pitt has joked about this, saying that Gary is the ‘best in the business when it comes to death scenes.

Alastor Moody (Mad-Eye)

Played by – Brendan Gleeson
Actor’s date of birth – 29th March 1955
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Brendan is very proud of his cultural heritage and speaks fluent Irish. He’s also an advocate for making Irish a more commonly spoken language so that it doesn’t get lost over time.

Nymphadora Tonks

Played by – Natalia Tena
Actor’s date of birth – 1st November 1984
Character’s significant relationships – Remus Lupin (husband), Teddy Lupin (son)
Fun fact – Natalia is a vocal feminist and believes in fighting gender norms. She’s very confident in her body and has even done fully nude scenes, such as in Game of Thrones.

Dobby

Played by – Toby Jones/ Diane Gibbins
Actor’s date of birth – 7th September 1966/ not public knowledge
Character’s significant relationships – Harry Potter (mentor), Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy (previous masters)
Fun fact – Whilst Toby is the voice actor for Dobby, many people might not realize that the character was physically in scenes, and they didn’t use CGI. Diane is barely over 3 feet tall and wore prosthetics to play Dobby. During the emotional death scene, she had to lie completely still in Daniel Radcliffe’s arms.

Olympe Maxime

Played by – Frances de la Tour
Actor’s date of birth – 30th July 1944
Character’s significant relationships – Rubeus Hagrid (boyfriend)
Fun fact – Although she has French heritage, as is evidenced by her name, and she plays a French character in Harry Potter, Frances herself is English.

Igor Karkaroff

Played by – Predrag Bjelac
Actor’s date of birth – 30th June 1962
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Even though he’s dedicated his life to acting, Predrag doesn’t believe in talent. He says instead that it’s about putting in the effort, and he sees acting as a job in the same vein as any other line of work.

Fleur Delacour

Played by – Clémence Poésy
Actor’s date of birth – 30th October 1982
Character’s significant relationships – Bill Weasley (husband), Gabrielle Delacour (sister)
Fun fact – Fleur is renowned for being beautiful, and that’s a feature that Clémence captured perfectly. As well as being an actress, Clémence also works as a model and has taken part in many high-profile campaigns.

Viktor Krum

Played by – Stanislav Ianevski
Actor’s date of birth – 16th May 1985
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Stanislav didn’t originally have any intention of being an actor and only auditioned for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire after being spotted by one of the casting directors, who talked him into it.

The Fat Lady

Played by – Elizabeth Spriggs/ Dawn French
Actor’s date of birth – 18th September 1929/11th October 1957
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – The Fat Lady was originally quite a serious character, but in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the directors chose to make her a humorous character instead, hence casting the famed comedienne, Dawn French.

Griphook

Played by – Verne Troyer/ Warwick Davis
Actor’s date of birth – 1st January 1969/3rd February 1970
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Warwick played two roles throughout the series, as he’s also the actor for Professor Flitwick as well as just Griphook.

Garrick Ollivander

Played by – John Hurt
Actor’s date of birth – 22nd January 1940
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – John Hurt lived an impressive life, and his acting career spanned many wonderful roles. In 2015, he received a knighthood for his services to drama.

Tom (Innkeeper for The Leaky Cauldron)

Played by – Derek Deadman/ Jim Tavaré
Actor’s date of birth – 11th March 1940/30th April 1963
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – As with the recasting of the Fat Lady, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban did the same thing with the character of Tom, choosing to replace Derek with Jim, who was well known as a comedian.

Moaning Myrtle

Played by – Shirley Henderson
Actor’s date of birth – 24th November 1965
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Even though Moaning Myrtle was just 14 when she died, Shirley was considerably older at the time of filming. When filming the scenes for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she was just shy of 40 years old!

Nearly Headless Nick

Played by – John Cleese
Actor’s date of birth – 27th October 1939
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – John Cleese is an icon of British media, and as well as being in the Harry Potter movies, he is renowned for starring in several Monty Python films, which are cult classics in Britain.

Madam Rosmerta

Played by – Julie Christie
Actor’s date of birth – 14th April 1940
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Julie may have only had a small role in Harry Potter, but she’s earned multiple prestigious awards across her acting career, including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and even an Oscar.

Stan Shunpike

Played by – Lee Ingleby
Actor’s date of birth – 28th January 1976
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Lee prefers playing background characters rather than the leads, as he says he relates more to the ‘everyman’ than the heroes, and he loves bringing personality to the more ordinary characters.

Barty Crouch Sr

Played by – Roger Lloyd-Pack
Actor’s date of birth – 8th February 1944
Character’s significant relationships – Barty Crouch Jr (son)
Fun fact – Although a lot of people from his generation have a reputation for not being very politically correct, Roger was a strong campaigner for social justice and had progressive views on the right of marginalized groups in society.

Rita Skeeter

Played by – Miranda Richardson
Actor’s date of birth – 3rd March 1958
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Miranda has a rather unusual hobby in that she’s into falconry and even has her trained falcon named Cassiopeia.

Arabella Figg

Played by – Kathryn Hunter
Actor’s date of birth – 9th April 1957
Character’s significant relationships – N/A
Fun fact – Kathryn has Greek heritage. Although she changed her name for professional purposes, she was born Aikaterini Hadjipateras.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this character guide has helped you get to know a bit more about the fantastic actors and actresses involved with this magical franchise. Even though it’s been over a decade since the last film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, was released, there’s still so much hype for the series, and fans still love the movies. It’s readily acknowledged what a fantastic job the casting team did with finding the perfect actors for every role.

There were also a lot of minor roles throughout the series, and whilst those actors did a great job, I didn’t feel the need to include them here. I instead wanted to dedicate the article to understanding the cast behind the more prominent roles, and I loved discovering all the fun facts that I shared with you. If you love the Harry Potter series, then you’ll certainly find a home here at Wizards Welcome!

FAQs

Question: How Many People Auditioned for the Role of Harry?

Answer: About 300 young boys auditioned to play Harry, but the director, David Heyman, felt that none of them were quite right. One day, David saw Daniel Radcliffe sitting at the back of a theatre and thought he looked exactly how he’d envisioned Harry. He convinced Daniel’s parents to let him audition and was thrilled with the results, casting Daniel as the beloved character Harry Potter.

Question: How Many Actors Played the Same Character in all 8 Movies?

Answer: Most characters were only in some of the movies, and a few of the characters were recast for various reasons. In total, only 13 actors played the same character throughout the series. These were Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan), Joshua Herdman (Gregory Goyle), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Geraldine Somerville (Lily Potter), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley).

Question: Which Harry Potter Cast Members Have Died?

Answer: Unfortunately, many of the excellent actors in Harry Potter are no longer with us. They have passed away since filming the movies. Some of those people include Alan Rickman, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, and Roger Lloyd Pack. Arguably the most tragic death of all was 18-year-old Rob Knox, who played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He was stabbed in London after rescuing his brother from a man who was threatening him. There was even a documentary made about it, entitled (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story.