Actor Kit Harington is exchanging swords for wands as he now gears up to leave behind the North to enter the wizzarding world of ‘Harry Potter.

Kit Harington cast as Gilderoy Lockhart

The actor, best known for playing Jon Snow in the hit series ‘Game of Thrones’, will now play Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2 of the highly anticipated ‘Harry Potter’ series. The actor will be replacing Nicholas Hoult, who exited the production due to scheduling conflicts.

Kit Harington on voicing Gilderoy Lockhart for audio book

Interestingly, this will not be his first turn as the character. Kit previously voiced Lockhart, who is central to the plot of the second book ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,’ in Audible’s ‘Harry Potter’ audiobooks late last year.Speaking to Variety about the audiobooks in December, self-proclaimed ‘Harry Potter’ nerd Harington said he fell in love with J.K. Rowling’s books as a kid and has reread them many times since.“It was a really simple yes, because I love the character. 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,” Harington said of agreeing to voice Lockhart in the audiobooks.

About the character Gilderoy Lockhart

According to the series, Lockhart is a famous yet arrogant wizard known for his many heroic acts, becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts and it’s soon made clear that he isn’t qualified for the job. He was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 ‘Chamber of Secrets’ film.

‘Harry Potter’ Season 2 cast

Season 2 of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, which is based on ‘Chamber of Secrets,’ is set to start shooting this fall.Dominic McLaughlin is set to play the title role in the show, with Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Additional cast members include John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, while Janet McTeer is Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu plays Snape, and Nick Frost has been cast as Rubeus Hagrid.