Jonathan sent us a report

Jonathan sent us a report from the teletext service on Channel 4 stating that Hugh Grant is out of Harry Potter 2 (Sep 28, 2001).

“Hugh Grant has been forced to drop out of Harry Potter 2 because of a busy schedule. He was due to have played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets. A source at Warner Bros told Teletext: “To have Hugh on board we had to bring the production forward 3 months which we cannot do. So sadly he’s forced out“.

The loss of Hugh Grant as Professor Lockhart is a blow to Harry Potter 2 given his box office draw. It’s known that he had undergone extensive hair and make-up tests, and had dyed his hair blond, rather than wear a wig which he described as “absurd”. The Professor claims to be an expert on wizardry and is a major character in the JK Rowling story. Warner Bros declined to comment”.

We have always said that Hugh Grant as Lockhart is just a (good) rumor, even as many established online and print papers and magazines announced his part as confirmed – we sticked to the rumor version! If we confirm a part we either got a personal confirmation from the actor or a person close to him (agent, spokesperson, movie crew) – or Warner Bros. officially has confirmed it.