Peter Serafinowicz has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist in HBO’s “Harry Potter” series.
The character, a cheeky ghost known for causing trouble in the Hogwarts halls, is a fan-favorite who didn’t appear in any of the original “Harry Potter” movies.
Serafinowicz, who is repped by Curtis Brown Group, UTA, 3 Arts, and Peikoff Mahan, recently appeared in last year’s live-action version of “How to Train Your Dragon.” He is also known for playing Edgar Covington in “Parks and Recreation” and Denarian Saal in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
The actor and comedian also has a long list of voice acting and animation credits ranging from voicing Darth Maul in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” to Big Daddy in “Sing” and “Sing 2.”
Fans will no doubt be thrilled to see Peeves finally portrayed on screen. In the original film series Peeves was set to be played by British comedian Rik Mayall, who died in 2014, before being cut due to time constraints. “I did a little bit of filming then I went home and got the money – significant – then a month later they said ‘Rik, sorry about this, you’re not in the film,’” Mayall once revealed in an interview. Despite being left on the cutting room floor, Mayall was offered tickets to the film’s opening night which he passed on to his children as he was busy shooting another project. “I hadn’t told my kids I wasn’t in it yet,” he recalled. “And they came back and said ‘It’s bloody good make-up. You didn’t look like yourself at all, dad, it’s really good’ — they thought I was playing Hagrid.”
