Nick Frost Reveals How He Manifested His Role as Hagrid in Harry Potter Reboot

1 week ago 9

Harry teaches Neville in the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Published Jan 30, 2026, 12:38 PM EST

Shrishty is a decade-old journalist covering a variety of beats between politics to pop culture, but movies are her first love, which led her to study Film and TV Development at UCLAx. She lives and breathes cinema and sometimes wakes up with the close-up shot of Ryan Gosling's hands playing piano in La La Land, in her head.

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HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot has curated an excellent cast. While the magic of the books and movies lives on in fans’ hearts, the series, showrun by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Mark Mylod, will introduce a new generation to the Wizarding World while tapping into nostalgia for older fans. While the young cast was chosen after an extensive search, some adult cast choices drew attention for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, Nick Frost stepping into Hagrid’s mighty shoes was celebrated by all. In a new conversation with The Guardian, the actor revealed that he literally manifested the role, making him all the more suitable for the magical world.

Frost is best known for features like Shaun of the Dead, Paul, and last year’s highly successful live-action remake, How to Train Your Dragon. Speaking about his love for Harry Potter movies, the actor revealed, “I’ve seen all the films.” Adding that his family enjoys the features during the holiday season, “We go through them all as a family during Christmas every year. We start on 20 December and finish a week and a half later.” The actor’s casting was welcomed by fans as he feels like a natural choice for the role Robbie Coltrane made so lovable worldwide. As for his casting, Frost revealed that he magically manifested it last Christmas.

"Before I was cast as Hagrid, my partner suggested trying to manifest it. So last Christmas, I watched all the films back to back on the Sky Harry Potter channel, while writing out the word “Hagrid” 7,000 times."

Who Else Is in HBO's ‘Harry Potter’ Reboot?

Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout are set as the golden trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, respectively, while Lox Pratt plays Draco Malfoy. The staff room includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall. Also starring are Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Louise Brealey as Madam Hooch, and Leigh Gill as Griphook. Furthermore, the Weasley family rounds off Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, with Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, Ruari Spooner, and Gracie Cochrane appearing as Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny Weasley. The upcoming season will cover the events of the first book in the series, The Philosopher’s Stone, with plans to film the second season covering the Chamber of Secrets, with a short break between the two seasons.