Nick Frost Nears Deal to Play Hagrid in HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series

HBO’s “Harry Potter” television series has honed in on another British vet for its vast ensemble of Wizarding World characters. Nick Frost, known for his turns in Edgar Wright’s comedic Cornetto trilogy, is nearing a deal to play Rubeus Hagrid, the kindly half-giant groundskeeper of Hogwarts, Variety has confirmed with sources.

HBO declined to comment on Frost’s potential involvement, though they provided the cagey response that, “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation.”

“As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals,” the network continued.

Reports of Frost’s involvement emerge days after the actor posted a cryptic message on his Instagram, saying “What a bloody lovely day! It’s happening, it’s actually happening. Stay cool.”

Frost was first known to audiences as a cast member of the British comedy series “Spaced,” which launched a collaborative partnership with co-star Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright. The trio made three genre films together, informally known as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, which included “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End.” Frost also co-wrote and co-starred in the alien comedy “Paul,” working with Pegg. He was last credited as the voice of the swashbuckling droid SM-33 in Disney +’s “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.” He can next be seen in June in Universal’s live-action remake of “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Hagrid is a key figure across all seven books in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, first appearing to inform the series 11-year-old protagonist that he is a wizard before absconding him to Hogwarts. The character was played by Robbie Coltrane in the original “Harry Potter” film franchise, who appeared in all eight installments. Coltrane died in 2022 at the age of 72.

Deadline was first to report on Frost’s association with the “Harry Potter” series.

More to come…