The Wizarding World is one of the biggest IPs in the world, with entire generations growing up with the books, video games, theme parks and (of course) the Harry Potter movies. Those eight films (which are streaming with a HBO Max subscription) are regularly re-watched by fans, who are eagerly anticipated the TV adaptation. The new Harry Potter cast has some big shoes to fill, and Mad-Eye Moody actor Brendan Gleeson recently offered six words for whoever take on that role next.
What we know about the Harry Potter TV show is fairy limited, but each season is expected to cover one of the novels. While speaking to People at the premiere of Spider-Noir (which will be available with a Prime Video subscription), Gleeson was asked if he had any advice for whoever ends up taking his role in the upcoming book to screen adaptation. While he originally said "absolutely not", he eventually relented and offered:
Enjoy yourself, do your own thing.
Honestly, that seems like some sound advice. While the actors in the Harry Potter TV show will no doubt be compared to their movie counterparts, they shouldn't necessarily try to do impressions. Brendan Gleeson hopes the new Mad-Eye will do his own thing, which is a lesson that many of the new cast might want to consider. We'll just have to wait and see who ends up cast in that role when the character (presumably) shows up in Season 4 aka The Goblet of Fire.
Mad-Eye Moody is a fan favorite character with a unique origin in the novel. Because while he's a scene-stealer throughout The Goblet of Fire, it's revealed at the end that it was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise. The real Mad-Eye would end up having a role through the rest of the franchise, bringing his signature gruff attitude to the table in the process.
Gleeson is a wildly successful actor, with his tenure in Harry Potter only part of his decades-spanning career in TV and film. Still, Potter fans think of him as the definitive Mad-Eye Moody, so it should be interesting to see how the new actor is received, and how he distinguishes himself from the movie version.
As previously mentioned, Brendan Gleeson has a thrilling new project coming out, as he's playing Silvermane in the new Amazon series Spider-Noir. That show will drop on May 27th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. As for the Harry Potter show, we can expect that to premiere on December 25th on HBO.
