12 Worst Casting Decisions In Harry Potter Movies

Fan-favourite from the second book, Gilderoy Lockhart goes alongside Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge as some of Rowling's most ingeniously insipid creations. So when Emma Thompson's other half was cast as the doomed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, it should have been cheers all round.

The problem was, there was never the celebrity woo from Branagh's performance that Gilderoy was supposed to have. The books spelled out a camp and charismatic Prince Charming from Shrek, while the Lockhart of the films played like an imitation knockoff. Not unlike a used-car salesman, Branagh's Lockhart swooned with a dodgy fake tan and some poorly placed veneers - it was hard to be won over by the performance.

Given that Lockhart's celebrity status wasn't really explored in the film, is there a chance we could see more of the golden-haired lothario in the future? When asked if he would return to the role, Branagh said:

"They'd have to lock me out of the studio if there's even a chance for that...Now the world of CGI is so helpful, I could be exactly the same age or younger! Which is a very Gilderoy Lockhart kind of thing, I think he'd prefer that."

Hopefully he will keep his distance from the Beasts franchise, because nearly 15 years after his one-off role, is there any need to return? We get that we were supposed to hate the guy, but there is a fine line between hating the character and despising the performance - film Lockhart was just a little too cheap.