Bill Nighy nabs Harry Potter role at long last

Actor Bill Nighy must have found some felix felicis. He’s set to join the cast of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” after five years of trying for it.

He’ll play Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic in the final two movies in the series.

Nighy was delighted to get the part – as he has persistently pestered his longterm pal, Harry Potter director David Yates, for a role in the project.

“I was with him (Yates) when he got the job a couple of years ago and I said, ‘Oh, well maybe now I won’t be the only English actor who’s not in Harry Potter’ – that was like five years ago. Anyway, I finally made it under the wire,” said Nighy.

“We may have talked about it before, but he’s one of the most gifted directors I’ve ever worked with. He’s a quiet genius, David Yates. I’m delighted and very pleased I’m going to be in Harry Potter, but I’m doubly pleased because it’s with David.”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will hit theaters in two parts, with the first half of the story due in 2010.