Kit Harington is making headlines again, but this time it has nothing to do with Westeros. The actor, best known for playing Jon Snow on ‘Game of Thrones‘, has taken on a new role within the ‘Harry Potter‘ universe.
Harington is now stepping into the wizarding world and joining a growing list of well-known actors bringing the beloved story back to life in a brand-new format.
Kit Harington Voices Gilderoy Lockhart
Despite his love for the Harry Potter series, Kit Harington never auditioned for the films as he was slightly too old at the time. But what was meant for him eventually made its way. Now, Harington has voiced Gilderoy Lockhart in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.’ The audiobook series itself launched last month with ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone,‘ where Lockhart enters the story as a famous wizard author and briefly serves as Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
According to Harington, the casting process was very easy as well. Audible approached him directly and asked if he wanted to play Lockhart, and he agreed almost instantly. The decision came easily because Lockhart is one of the most entertaining characters in the series, and his excitement reached its peak. Harington completed his recording sessions in just a couple of days, as Lockhart mainly appears in Book Two and then briefly for the ‘Order of the Phoenix’.
The trickiest part for him was bringing in the voice difference between the initial Lockhart and the one in ‘Order of the Phoenix’. In ‘Order of the Phoenix’, Lockhart is old and suffering at St. Mungo’s Hospital, going through memory loss. But surprisingly, Harington tackled the transition really well. Besides Harington, a wide-ranging cast of familiar voices for the audiobook series, including Matthew Macfadyen as Voldemort, Keira Knightley as Dolores Umbridge, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, and James McAvoy as Mad-Eye Moody.
Harington’s Longtime Connection To ‘Harry Potter’
Harington has said that ‘Harry Potter‘ has been part of his life since childhood. He read the books while growing up and pointed out that he was the same age as Harry when he first started the series. While he did watch the films, he said he never connected with the story in the same way he did through the books.
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As he got older, adulthood took over, but eventually, Stephen Fry’s audiobook narrations made their way back to him. Harington explained that he has listened to the audiobooks almost every night for the past six or seven years, and has often used them as a sleep aid. Basically, he has always been a typical ‘Harry Potter‘ nerd. As destiny had its plans, that long connection has now turned into an official role.
