Last month, actor Rafe Spall was announced as Arthur Weasley in the second season of the Harry Potter TV series, an adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Spall, the son of Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew in the film series), has already begun shooting scenes for the series and recently gave a couple of updates on the spectacle of the production and his role.
Spall spoke of the scale of the production, as well as his longevity in the role, saying, ‘I’m doing Harry Potter at the moment. If people like it, I’ll be doing that for a long time… I’ve never seen production values like it … I’ve never seen sets like these. Kate Hall, who does the hair and make up and worked on The Crown, is extraordinary. Holly Waddington, who won an Oscar for Poor Things, is doing the costumes. I’ve never come out of costume fittings feeling so excited. I was around true genius — a costume designer who just blows my mind.’
Spall has already begun filming scenes, likely shooting the scene in Flourish and Blotts where Harry and the Weasley family encounter Lucius Malfoy and meet the narcissistic Gilderoy Lockhart (Kit Harington). Says Spall, ‘There are fabulous actors involved. Katherine Parkinson [Molly Weasley] and I play the Weasley parents, and to my mind, she’s one of the best actors in the world. She’s phenomenal. The other day it was me, her, Kit Harington [Lockhart] and Johnny Flynn [Lucius Malfoy]. It was just fun.’
Season two, an adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is currently in production. Numerous casting announcements, including Tom Riddle, Moaning Myrtle and Dobby have already been revealed. Season one, an eight-episode adaptation of the first Harry Potter book, begins airing on Christmas Day.
