A Lord Of The Rings Actor Wants To Play Voldemort In Hbo's Harry Potter Series

Warner Bros.

Another actor has thrown their hat in the ring to play Voldemort in HBO's upcoming "Harry Potter" TV show. The actor in question is Andy Serkis, known best for his work as Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise, as well as playing Caesar in the more modern "Planet of the Apes" movies. Voldemort famously killed Harry Potter's parents, and Serkis seems willing to take on that task for HBO's small screen reboot.

On a recent episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, where he was promoting his new animated film adaptation of "Animal Farm," Serkis was presented with the idea of playing He Who Shall Not Be Named in the "Harry Potter" show, which dropped its first trailer back in March. The premiere season, titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" after the first "Harry Potter" book, is due to arrive in December. Serkis responded well to the idea, saying:

"Definitely. I'm just waiting for the call basically, that's a cool one. Mind you, Ralph's [Fiennes] got big boots to follow."

"I'd have to think seriously about that. I'm not going to ruin that right now," Serkis joked when pressed to demonstrate what his take on the character might be. "No, I'm not gonna do it right now." The actor also quipped, "Oh yeah, I'd chop my nose off. Very happy to do that."

To be crystal clear, this wasn't something Serkis seemed to be pondering before host Josh Horowitz brought it up. All the same, he does seem like a good fit. Cillian Murphy won't be playing Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" series, so somebody has to.

Marvel Studios

The "Harry Potter" TV show cast is full of new faces to fill Hogwarts, in addition to some familiar ones. Dominic McLaughlin leads the way as Harry, with Arabella Stanton playing Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout playing Ron Weasley. HBO has spared no expense tapping lots of other high-profile, A-list talent to fill out the rest of the ensemble, but Voldemort remains a major question mark even with Season 1 now well into development.

Warner Bros. and HBO plan to fully adapt every "Harry Potter" book, with the show spanning a full decade. To keep the train running on time, they will likely need to cast the villain sooner rather than later. HBO reportedly wants Marvel star Paul Bettany to play Voldemort, but that has yet to be confirmed. So, in theory, there's still time for Andy Serkis to get his hat into the ring.

It seems unlikely that Serkis would be able to fit this into his really busy schedule, though. "The Batman Part II" is getting ready to begin filming soon, with Serkis reprising his role as Alfred Pennyworth. Even bigger than that, he's set to direct "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum," which will see him playing Gollum again as well. That's a colossal undertaking that will be getting underway soon, with "The Hunt for Gollum" potentially serving as the first of many new "Lord of the Rings" movies.

It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Serkis could have a part to play in whatever comes next. He's a busy man and a decade-long commitment seems like it would be a difficult thing for him to manage.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" debuts Christmas 2026 on HBO and HBO Max.