Harry Potter's family is growing on screen.
HBO's new "Harry Potter" series has added three actors to its cast. Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn will play James and Lily Potter, Harry's parents, while Harry Gilby will play Charlie Weasley, one of Ron's older brothers. The news came on October 27, less than two months before the show's first episode arrives.
The first season, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," will premiere on December 25. It will have eight episodes, and each of the later books is set to be adapted as a season of its own.
James and Lily were killed when Harry was just a baby, leaving him to be raised by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. In the films, the couple were played by Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somerville. Charlie, who studied at Hogwarts like Ron, never really appeared in the films, apart from a family photo. This time, he will have an actor of his own.
The three join a cast led by Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, with Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton as his friends Ron and Hermione. John Lithgow plays headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu plays Potions teacher Severus Snape, Janet McTeer plays Minerva McGonagall, and Nick Frost plays Hagrid.
"There is nothing special about Harry Potter, or so his Aunt Petunia tells him," reads the official description of the first season. "But when a mysterious letter of admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrives, it opens the door to a hidden world of magic, friendship and adventure."
HBO has already planned beyond Christmas. In May, it renewed the series for a second season, which will be based on "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."