Peter Serafinowicz Joins Harry Potter HBO Series As Peeves The Poltergeist

Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead, The Tick) is the latest English actor to join HBO's Harry Potter show. He has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist. Serafinowicz 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.

Peeves featured prominently in the books, but not the films. The character was originally planned to be featured in the first film. The late Rik Mayall (The Young Ones, Drop Dead Fred) was cast as Peeves and filmed scenes for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. But this was cut out in post production due to director Christopher Columbus being unsatisfied with what they had filmed. Despite not appearing in the live-action Harry Potter films, Peeves props up in multiple video game adaptations of the movies. He appears in the video game versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as the Lego Harry Potter games and Hogwarts Legacy.

Peeves is a mischievous, devilish ghost who stalks the halls of Hogwarts. It's unclear if Peeves will appear in Season 1 or if he will make his debut in the second season of the Harry Potter show, which is currently in pre-production and expected to begin filming this fall. According to the official Harry Potter website, "Peeves enjoyed nothing more than causing chaos in the school corridors. A constant nuisance, no one disliked Peeves more than the school's caretaker, Argus Filch, who was the one tasked with cleaning up the mess. Whether he was throwing things, blowing raspberries or writing rude words on the blackboard, there was nothing Peeves liked best than making mischief!"

Harry Potter Season 1 will adapt 1997's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and is slated to premiere on HBO this Christmas. HBO’s adaptation, which is reportedly planned as a seven-season spectacular with each season tackling one novel in J.K. Rowling’s epic book series, has ostensibly aimed to “go deeper” than the films.