Actor Bill Nighy is trading in his pirate's hat for a magician's wand - he's reportedly set to join the cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

The Brit starred as Davy Jones alongside Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean franchise's second and third installments.

But he's now being linked to the role of Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour for the last movies in the boy wizard series, according to British newspaper The Independent.

If the reports are true, Nighy won't need to spend too much time in the make-up chair as he already shares some of the character's features.

Scrimgeour is described in the book the film is based on as an "old lion" with bushy eyebrows, tawny hair, yellow eyes and wire-rimmed spectacles.

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

Bill Nighy Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)