HBO has unveiled a new teaser for its upcoming Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone series, which is set to premiere on Christmas Day 2026. Among the familiar Hogwarts faces is Lebanese-Palestinian actress Sirine Saba, who is stepping into the robes of Professor Pomona Sprout.
While this may be Saba’s biggest mainstream role yet, she is hardly new to the spotlight. With nearly three decades of work across British theatre, television and film, the Beirut-born actress has built an impressive career while also consistently bringing Palestinian, Lebanese and wider Arab stories to the stage.
Here’s everything to know about the Arab actress about to make her way to Hogwarts.
Meet Professor Sprout, Saba’s New Hogwarts Role
Saba will play Professor Pomona Sprout, Hogwarts’ Herbology professor and Head of Hufflepuff House. Basically, she’s the teacher making sure students know the difference between an ordinary plant and one that might bite their fingers off.
Professor Sprout teaches Herbology in Hogwarts’ greenhouses, where students learn to care for the magical plants that are very much not your average houseplants. She is also an important mentor to Neville Longbottom, encouraging his natural talent for Herbology; something that eventually leads him to become a teacher of the subject himself.
The role was previously played by Miriam Margolyes in the Harry Potter films The Chamber of Secrets and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
From Beirut to the Stage
Born in Beirut in 1975, Saba spent her early childhood in Lebanon before moving away at the age of eight. She has described herself as half-Lebanese and half-Palestinian, with her childhood in Beirut remaining an important part of her connection to the region.
Acting was something she gravitated towards from an early age. In a 2006 interview, Saba said that as far back as she could remember, becoming an actor was all she had wanted to do.
She later trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), setting the stage for a career that would take her through some of the UK’s most respected theatres.
She Took on Shakespeare’s Biggest Classics
Long before she was cast as a Hogwarts professor, Saba was tackling some of theatre’s biggest roles.
She became part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions including The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Pericles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tales from Ovid. She also took on Shakespearean classics including Romeo and Juliet and King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe.
You’ve Probably Seen Her on Screen Too
Although theatre has been a major part of her career, Saba has also built up an extensive television and film résumé.
Her television credits include Doctor Who, Beyond Paradise, Midsomer Murders, Cleaning Up, EastEnders, Unforgotten, Silent Witness and Holby City. On the big screen, she has appeared in films including Maestro, Exhibition, Death of the Revolution and The Black Forest.
So while Harry Potter might introduce her to an entirely new global audience, Saba has been quietly building an impressive career for years.
Her Roles Have Often Reflected Her Arab Roots
One of the most interesting parts of Saba’s career is how often she has gravitated towards stories connected to the Arab world.
In 2014, she joined the cast of Omar El-Khairy’s The Keepers of Infinite Space, a play centred on a Palestinian bookshop owner imprisoned by Israeli forces and the family trying to secure his release. Saba played his wife.
A year later, she appeared as Nahla in Palestinian playwright Dalia Taha’s Fireworks at the Royal Court. Set in a Palestinian town under siege, the play follows two families and their children as they attempt to carry on with everyday life amid air strikes.
In June 2026, she took part in Voices from Lebanon, a London performance organised by theatre charity Seenaryo. The project brought together monologues created from the experiences of people across Lebanon during the 2026 war, with Saba performing a piece assembled from WhatsApp conversations among Lebanese women living through war and displacement.
Saba’s casting as Professor Sprout is a pretty exciting new chapter in a career that has already moved between Shakespearean classics, British television and theatre rooted in Arab experiences.
Now, she is heading to one of the most recognisable fictional schools in the world; trading London stages for Hogwarts greenhouses and Palestinian and Lebanese stories for magical plants, Hufflepuffs and a whole new generation of Harry Potter fans.
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