Gary Oldman for Potter 3

As if Hogwarts wasn't stuffed to its magical rafters with the cream of British acting talent already, it looks mighty like English rent-a-baddie par excellence Gary Oldman will be joining Harry in the shape-shifting form of wizard Sirius Black. Confirmed to be in talks to play the canny animagus himself, Gary Oldman is certainly the perfect adversary for those pesky Dementors, fully capable of giving them the slip and escaping the rather limiting environs of Azkaban with just a few of his well-honed psychotic twitches. Well known for his terrifyingly convincing portrayal of borderline nutters in films such as Leon, The Fifth Element, Air Force One and Hannibal, Oldman will no doubt lend a nicely menacing edge to the Potter proceedings directed this time by new boy Alfonso Cuaron. With production scheduled to kick off on 17 February, it'll be a welcome return to the mainstream for Oldman after a recent run of indie projects. As well as starring as – yep, you've guessed it – a mysterious and vengeful baddie in Sin opposite Ving Rhames, Oldman has outdone even himself by playing the Devil in Tony Scott's The Hire: Beat the Devil and will next be seen as the dwarf brother of Matthew McConaughey in Tiptoes.