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Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Quick video for you today on the most recent update from HBO, which

includes their finalized casting decisions for a number of the main actors in season one,

which will be an adaptation of the Philosopher's Stone. Many of these names have been thrown

around over the past few months, but few had actually been confirmed. And interestingly,

there are few names and characters here

that have slipped through the cracks entirely. In total, there are six names. I'll start with the

ones that I didn't know about up until the announcement, then go into the others. Beginning with

Quirinus Quirrel. Actor Luke Thallon has officially been cast as Quirinus Quill, the nervous

defense against a dark arts professor from Harry's first year. Thallon has officially been cast as Quirinus Quill, the nervous defense against a dark arts professor

from Harry's first year. Thallon is an accomplished stage actor whose credits include Patriots, Albion,

and Tom Stoppards, Leopoldstadt. Most recently, he took on the title role in a Royal Shakespeare

Company production of Hamlet, which gives us a pretty clear indication of his dramatic

chops. I don't know too much about Thallon, but I do know Quirrell's character is layered with

insecurity, fear, and ultimately a dark twist, and hopefully his stage background should lend itself

well to that kind of transformation. In the original Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone film,

Quirrel was of course

portrayed by Ian Hart. While Quirrell is often remembered as the stammering, nervous defense

against a dark arts professor, his arc is far more sinister beneath the surface. He begins the story

as a seemingly timid academic, but we eventually learn he's been hiding Lord Voldemort on the

back of his head

the entire time. What makes the role of quarrel so tricky is the dual performance it demands.

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