Nick Frost on playing Hagrid in the new Harry Potter series:  I'm never going to try and be Robbie Coltrane...

Nick Frost talks about playing Hagrid

Nick Frost will play Gobber the Belch in the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake, which is scheduled for release in June, before assuming the legendary role of Hagrid in the upcoming live-action Harry Potter series.

The Hot Fuzz star talked candidly about the difficulty of playing the role of Robbie Coltrane, who first portrayed Rubeus Hagrid in all eight Harry Potter films, in a recent interview.

After a protracted illness, Coltrane tragically passed away in 2022.

Speaking to Collider about his approach to the beloved character, Frost emphasised his intention to honour Coltrane’s legacy while also bringing his own interpretation to the role. He explained, “While I'm really aware of what went before me in terms of Robbie [Coltrane]'s amazing performance, I'm never going to try and be Robbie. I'm going to try and do something, not ‘different,’ I think you have to be respectful to the subject matter, but within that, there's scope for minutiae.”

Frost went on to describe how he perceives Hagrid’s character, saying, “I always read Hagrid as he's like a lovely, lost, violent, funny, warm child. I think the beauty of being able to do a book a season means I get to explore that a lot more, and I can't wait. He's funny! I want it to be funny and cheeky and scared and protective and childlike. That's what I'm planning on doing.”

Filming for the upcoming Harry Potter series will start this summer at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the United Kingdom. Frost also disclosed that it might take "ten or eleven months" to finish each season.

The project's showrunner is Francesca Gardiner, and its director is Mark Mylod, who is well-known for his work on Succession. To enable a more thorough examination of the plot, the producers plan to turn each book from the original series into a separate season.

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Along with Frost's casting as Hagrid, the show has a number of other confirmed actors: Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.

New faces have been added to this eagerly awaited reboot with the announcement of the three new leads portraying Harry, Ron, and Hermione.