While the cast of the Harry Potter movies is consistently asked if they’ll return for HBO’s Harry Potter series, there actually already is one returning player. A few days ago, we found out which actors will be playing some of the core Hogwarts faculty, and that included Paul Whitehouse, who will portray Argus Filch. However, this won’t be his first trip to the Wizarding World…
After months of rumors surrounding the casting of Snape, McGonagall and more, we finally have some solid casting news. The Harry Potter series cast many key Hogwarts staff members, and now we officially know that we’ll see John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Filch. And it’s that last name I want to focus on today.
Now, by itself, it’s awesome that Paul Whitehouse is set to play Filch. He’s following in the footsteps of the legend David Bradley, and I personally can’t wait to see his portrayal of the menacing and kind of creepy caretaker of Hogwarts. However, it’s his connection to the Harry Potter films that makes this all even better.
Back in 2004, Whitehouse appeared in one of the best Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He played Sir Cadogan in it, and he spent all his time in the paintings, as one of the many living portraits in the school.
In the film, Hogwarts is infiltrated by Sirius, and the Fat Lady’s painting, which serves as the entrance to the Gryffindor commons, gets all scratched up. If you look closely at the various portraits in the stairway, a knight can be seen rushing around the background – that is, presumably, him (as you can see in the image at the top of this story).
He is also more heavily featured in a few deleted scenes (via ScreenRant), including one where he takes over guarding the door for his fellow painted person, and the students look at him annoyed because he keeps changing the password.
While Whitehouse was largely cut out of Prisoner of Azkaban, he 100% will not be in the series. Filch, despite being one of the most despicable Harry Potter characters for his loyalty to Delores Umbridge, is a vital part of the Hogwarts staff, and he’s always on the lookout for students causing trouble with his cat, Mrs. Norris. So, it’s a guarantee that we’ll be seeing a lot more of Paul Whitehouse in this new Harry Potter adaptation.
However, it’s cool to think about him galavanting through the paintings in the movie, especially since he now gets to wander the actual halls of the school in the series.
Outside of Harry Potter, Paul Whitehouse is best known for being in The Fast Show and voicing characters in Tim Burton movies like Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland as well as Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Overall, this is such a fun fact to add to our growing knowledge about the Harry Potter series, and I’m kind of hoping we’ll get more casting news like it as they round out the ensemble. Obviously, the kids will all likely be new actors. However, there’s an opportunity with the older characters – like the Hogwarts staff – to choose performers who have connections to the original franchise but can still bring a new flavor to bigger parts, like Whitehouse will.
Now, to go back and see a glimpse of Paul Whitehouse in the movies, you can stream Harry Potter with a Max subscription. Then, make sure to keep an eye out for updates about the series, because that’s when we’ll really get to see this actor make his mark on Hogwarts.
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