HBO's 'Harry Potter' has cast its Cornelius Fudge; find out
09 Jun 2025

The upcoming Harry Potter series on HBO has added another key character to its cast, according to reports.

Tony and Olivier Award-winning actor Bertie Carvel will play Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, reported Deadline.

He will join Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger.

Other notable cast members are Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), and Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid).

Fudge played by Robert Hardy in the original films
Character details

Carvel is expected to have a recurring role as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

In the original film series, Robert Hardy took on this character across four films, first appearing in Chamber of Secrets.

HBO has not confirmed these casting details yet, stating that they will only confirm information once deals are finalized.

HBO series will be 'faithful adaptation' of Rowling's books
Production details

The Harry Potter series is being touted as a "faithful adaptation" of J.K. Rowling's beloved books. Rowling is an executive producer on the project, despite ongoing controversies surrounding her.

It is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner, who also serves as the showrunner.

Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct several episodes of the HBO series, which is produced by HBO in association with Bronte Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television.

Carvel has worked with HBO before
Actor's background

Carvel is an accomplished stage actor who is already set to work with HBO on its other series, the upcoming prequel of Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

He is also known for playing Tony Blair in Netflix's The Crown and starring in Acorn TV and Channel 5's series Dalgliesh.